The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Government plans to approach TNERC over power tariff concession to ITES

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Tuesday, Jul 08, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Government plans to approach TNERC over power tariff concession to ITES

T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI: The State government will refer to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) the issue of extending concession in power tariff, now given to information technology companies, to the units of IT-enabled services, says a senior official.

At present, the IT companies are paying industrial tariff, while the IT-enabled services firms pay commercial tariff.

On an average, the IT companies pay Rs. 3.50 per unit to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, and the IT-enabled services firms Rs. 5. And for the Board, the difference in the tariff means Rs. 44 crore in annual revenue.

The IT sector has been demanding that the government treat the IT-enabled service units as part of the sector.

Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy chaired a meeting at the Secretariat on Monday to discuss the issue.

According to an estimate of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), there are 600 IT companies (registered with the STPI) and 200 ITES firms in and around the city.

First order

The Commission issued its first tariff order in March 2003. It was based upon the earlier orders of the government, says a spokesperson. Whenever it receives representations from different sections of consumers, it addresses their grievances.

TNEB’s loss

As for the current issue, the spokesperson says, the Commission can either take it up at the time of the next tariff order or agree to extend the concession to IT-enabled services units, provided the State Government comes forward to bear the loss the Board will incur.

The official says the government may hold discussions with the Commission next week.

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