Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 16: The State government Thursday filed a review petition before the Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) seeking a rollback of the hike in power tariff for the agricultural sector.
“As was promised in the assembly, the state government filed a review petition with the OERC today seeking to roll back the hike in power tariff effected for the agricultural sector,” energy minister Pranab Prakash Das told the media at the Secretariat.
He said, “With a view to protecting the interests of the farmers, we have appealed to the regulatory body to adjust the same by cross subsidizing, in the tariff order.”
OERC announced the new electricity tariff for the 2015-16 financial year March 24. It saw a hike in the tariff by 20paise per unit for domestic consumers and 40paise per unit for the agriculture sector. This was the first such hike in the past one and half decade. It said the revised tariff would be effective from April 1.
However, the issue caught fire and the state assembly which was in session at that time witnessed an Opposition outcry against the tariff hike. There were repeated adjournments as the Congress and the BJP demanded an immediate rollback.
Energy minister Das, while making a statement in the assembly March 30, promised the house that the state would file a review petition with the OERC seeking withdrawal of the hike announced for the agricultural sector.
The BJP, in continuance of its protest against the move, Thursday effected a blockade of the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) office in the capital, demanding withdrawal of power tariff hike and a CAG audit of the power utilities.
