At least 20 large industrial units in the state have asked Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) to disconnect power supply in protest against the recent hike in tariff even as the trade and industry associations held news meets to voice their grievances on Saturday.
“Nineteen industrial units, including mine, in Jamshedpur have sent disconnection notices to the power distribution company (JBVNL),” said Mahesh Sonthalia, owner of Himadri Steel Private Ltd at Dalbhumgarh in East Singhbhum.
The units have been consuming huge power to operate furnaces and were given a special category status under which they were charged at Rs 4 per unit.
The revised tariff structure announced by Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC) has clubbed these units with other industries and fixed a blanket rate of Rs 6 per unit.
“It’s like charging both retail and bulk customers at the same rate,” Sonthalia said over the phone, adding the new tariff will force most of them to pay lakhs more every month towards their electricity bills.
Sushil Singh, owner of Kumardhubi Steel in Dhanbad, couldn’t agree more.
“I have also given a month’s notice for disconnection of power supply because I will have to pay around Rs 48 lakh more towards electricity bill every month following the revision in rates,” Singh said, adding his plea to the commission during a public hearing in Ranchi fell on deaf ears.
On whether he would reconsider his decision, Singh said, “I won’t be able to survive after paying such a hefty bill every month. There are many units like sponge iron plants that are dependent on products manufactured by us. They will eventually have to shut down, jeopardising the livelihood of many,” he said.
Sonthalia said industrial linkage, or interdependence between firms, would be badly affected.
“This doesn’t justify the dream of Momentum Jharkhand,” he said.
At a news meet held at Chamber Bhavan here on Saturday afternoon, president of Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FJCCI) Deepak Maroo said JSERC was imposing additional tariff on consumers every year to protect the inefficient discom.
“It’s true that the state government is giving subsidy, but that amount could have been spent in education and health sectors,” Sonthalia said.
Ajay Bhandari, the chairman of FJCCI’s industrial sub-committee, said JBVNL’s efficiency in billing and collection was far from satisfactory.
“JBVNL is an inefficient organisation and there is an urgent need to bring in other discoms. Jusco runs more efficiently despite charging lesser tariff,” he added.