Finally, govt working on a model to give cheap power to the industry

New Delhi, May 17 (KNN) For the first time, the government is working on a model to provide cheap power to industry to give a push to its flagship programme ‘Make in India’.

The industries from across the states keep protesting against the high power tariffs for the sector in comparison to agriculture sector and households.

However, for the first time, government is working on a model to give cheap power at fixed long term rates to the industry, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said in an interview to Business Standard.

He said, “The effort was to have a back-to-back arrangement, where state-owned NTPC supplied power at a fixed price.”

In addition to the subsidies and tax waivers offered by the state governments to boost investment, Goyal suggested, "Give land and a 10-year power at fixed rate to industry.”

Meanwhile, the industry keeps pointing out that to compensate the subsidized rates given to farmers and households due to which the discoms incur heavy losses, the government puts the additional burden on the industry.

Recently, the Punjab MSMEs were agitated over the high electricity and water bills. Similar is the case in almost all the states in India.

Talking to KNN, Narindra Bhamara, President, Fastener Manufacturers Association of India said, “Punjab government gives free power to the agriculture sector, which consumes almost 80% of the power; hence it is not able to cope with the deficit and ends up putting pressure on the industry.

Bhamara said, “We talk, we meet them, we sit on dharnas, we protest, but of no use. There is nobody here to worry about the industry.”

UP industrialists too, agitated over high power tariffs, have been raising voice against it and opting to shift to other sources like solar energy, but in that too they have many roadblocks.

The small and medium entrepreneurs in the state, who are ready to invest in solar rooftop installations to meet their power needs and cut down their production costs are not getting any response from the government officials. Surprisingly, the reason being given to them by the senior government officials, chief engineers and CMD level officials is that they are not fully aware of the Net Metering Policy.

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) had come out with a notification on Net Metering on March 20, 2015.

General Secretary, Nashik Industries & Manufacturers Association, Mangesh Patankar said that  the industry is being demanding for 5 per cent rate cut in power from the Maharashtra Electricity regulator authority (MERA). Instead, the government keeps hiking the rates.

The industry has been demanding rate cuts in power and land in the state.

“The power tariff in the state is higher as compared to other states. We want the state government to minimise the power rates for the industries if it really wants to make Make in Maharashtra a success," he added. (KNN Bureau)