The Consumer Legal Protection Forum, a city-based NGO, today decided to skip the public hearing of Assam Electricity Regulatory Authority on Tuesday, regarding an increase in power tariff in the state.
Chief convener of the NGO, Ajoy Hazarika, said they decided to skip the hearing, as the regulatory authority had failed to look into their complaints raised during similar hearings in the past.
“As the AERC is authorised by the Assam State Electricity Board to regulate the power tariff, we had demanded before it that the board should do away with the annual collection of power tariff from the government departments. Instead, the board should collect monthly tariff from government departments against every connection, as they collect tariff from general consumers. Instead of looking into our demands and other consumer grievances, it is again going to increase the power tariff,” Hazarika, also a lawyer of Gauhati High Court, said.
He said the authority had issued a public notice on its move to go for a power tariff hike citing loss in its revenue.
“According to our information, electricity bill of nearly Rs 43 crore is pending with different government departments and undertakings. Moreover, power consumption by the government departments is increasing but the ASEB is not looking into the issue and instead going for a tariff hike every year. This cannot be accepted,” Hazarika said.
The current average tariff of all segments is Rs.4.28 per unit.
The NGO demanded that the authority should be dissolved and re-constituted, cancel the public hearing for hike in power tariff and fulfil the demands raised during public hearings organised in the past.
Chief convener of the NGO, Ajoy Hazarika, said they decided to skip the hearing, as the regulatory authority had failed to look into their complaints raised during similar hearings in the past.
“As the AERC is authorised by the Assam State Electricity Board to regulate the power tariff, we had demanded before it that the board should do away with the annual collection of power tariff from the government departments. Instead, the board should collect monthly tariff from government departments against every connection, as they collect tariff from general consumers. Instead of looking into our demands and other consumer grievances, it is again going to increase the power tariff,” Hazarika, also a lawyer of Gauhati High Court, said.
He said the authority had issued a public notice on its move to go for a power tariff hike citing loss in its revenue.
“According to our information, electricity bill of nearly Rs 43 crore is pending with different government departments and undertakings. Moreover, power consumption by the government departments is increasing but the ASEB is not looking into the issue and instead going for a tariff hike every year. This cannot be accepted,” Hazarika said.
The current average tariff of all segments is Rs.4.28 per unit.
The NGO demanded that the authority should be dissolved and re-constituted, cancel the public hearing for hike in power tariff and fulfil the demands raised during public hearings organised in the past.
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