Patna, July 19: Fuel surcharge, which has become a recurring problem, is proving too heavy for industries.

Industry leaders are arguing that the decision of the state electricity board to impose fuel surcharge on a monthly basis would adversely affect industries, particularly, the fledgling ones. The industries might collapse if the present system of surcharge continues, they fear.

Industrialists are categorically demanding that the government either withdraw the surcharge or foot the bill to protect the industries otherwise all initiatives taken by government to revive business in the state would go in vain.

“The Steel Manufacturers’ Association has written a letter to chief minister Nitish Kumar seeking his intervention in the matter to protect the industries. We have requested the chief minister that the board should immediately withdraw the bill as industries are not in a position to foot the exorbitant energy bill,” Subhash K. Patwari, one of the steel manufacturers and vice-president of Bihar Industries Association (BIA) told The Telegraph.

“Electricity is a key raw material for iron and steel industries which are major sources of revenue for the state electricity board and the imposition of fuel surcharge since January 2009 has put an additional burden of around Rs 100 crore on secondary steel industries,” Patwari said. “There is no logic in imposing fuel surcharge either with retrospective effect or on monthly basis when the regulatory commission has already announced its tariff, recommending an increase of an average 19 per cent in electricity tariff which has been made effective from May 1 this year,” he added.

The board has imposed fuel surcharge at least six times in just one year, forcing consumers to shell out more money than Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (Berc) recommended to pay as electricity tariff, he said.

Another industrialist Satyajit Singh, the owner of Shakti Sudha Industries which processes and markets makhana, told The Telegraph: “It (surcharge) is being levied because of the electricity board’s inefficiency. There is rampant power theft and transmission and distribution loss of around 60 per cent which the board is trying to overcome by putting extra burden on the consumers. Industries are not in a position to bear the financial burden in the form of surcharge. A similar attempt to raise revenue through fuel surcharge during the RJD regime had left half the industries sick in Fatuha, Patliputra and Hajipur.”

If the state government does not take timely and effective measures to check the board’s autocratic way of imposing surcharge, then it would face difficulty in getting investments from private entrepreneurs considering the problems they face on two key components —land and exorbitant electricity rate coupled with non-availability of power.

A top official of Berc, which gave the nod to increase 19 per cent electricity tariff, said: “It is the board’s compulsion to levy surcharge as they have to pay more to purchase power from National Thermal Power Corporation which has increased the cost owing to increase in the rate of coal. They can also reduce the transmission and distribution loss which is much higher.”

Asked why the commission approves each and every proposal of the board to impose surcharge, he said: “It’s not the case. We give our consent only after examining their petition. We gave permission to impose 78 paise per unit against board’s proposal of Rs 1.24 for October 2009 to March 2010.”