Tata for uniform power tariff

Tata Power has responded positively to the state government’s appeal of uniform power tariff for the city. It has also proposed that the idea of subsidy should be reworked so that only needy consumers benefit from it and the burden on industrial consumers is lessened.

The company has, however, not yet rolled out its plan to have its own network in the city as told by Maharashtra Energy Regulatory Commission (MERC) while giving 25 years licence of power distribution.

“The uniform power tariff for the city is possible and we have given our consent to the state. Now it’s upto the state government to take the decision. They have appointed a consultant to work on the issue,” said Ashok Sethi, COO and executive director, Tata Power. The state wanted to have the uniform power tariff for the Mumbai where Tata Power, Reliance and BEST supply electricity.

Justifying its proposal to hike the power tariff by around six per cent, Mr Sethi said that it is necessary to recover regulatory assets. He was referring to a recent power tariff hike proposed by the company and pending before the MERC for a hearing.

On the MERC’s order to roll out its own distribution network in the city, Mr Sethi said that it should happen considering the customers’ demand.

“No network plan should happen without considering the customers. If you put in a lot of money in the network and if it does not attract customers then it’s wastage. In three years we have invested Rs 1,200 crore for networking. The roll out plan should be co-related with growth and customers. But Tata has been restricted for 10 years to manage the network the way we want,” he said.

At present the company is using the Reliance network for distribution and has no network of its own.

The MERC had suggested to the company that it should develop its own network while providing license for power distribution.