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Power tariff hike after Cabinet discussion: VS

Staff Reporter

Holds talks with representatives of trade unions

KOCHI: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said that a decision on the proposal to hike electricity tariff for industries will be taken only after discussions within the Cabinet.

The Chief Minister gave this assurance at a meeting with the representatives of the Standing Council of Trade Unions and the high-tension and extra high-tension industrial units at the Government Guest House at Aluva near here on Saturday.

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had submitted a recommendation for hiking power tariff to the Electricity Regulatory Committee.

Chandran Pillai, MP, recommended that the tariff hike should not be implemented without extensive discussions, as employees were the most affected.

He reminded that many industries had closed down in the past following power tariff hike.

Dr. Sukumaran Nair, managing director of the Travancore Cochin Chemicals, said the company would have to bear an additional burden of Rs.18 crore if the proposed tariff hike was implemented. Besides, the recommendation to double the tariff during the peak hour usage would sound the death knell of power-based industries, he said. He opined that reducing the transmission loss by the KSEB alone would be sufficient to avoid a tariff hike.

If the recommendation to treat all the industries having a connected load of more than 2500-kVA as power-intensive, then running industries in the State would become impossible, as all the industries would come under that classification, George Thomas, representative of private entrepreneurs, said.

The proposed tariff hike would affect the job security of employees, V.P. George, representing Indian National Trade Union Congress, said.

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