Guwahati, Dec. 16: Call it a pre-poll sop or a policy change of the Tarun Gogoi government, the New Year is set to offer respite from load shedding and no further hike in power tariff.

"The government will make sure that people get 24x7 electricity supply from the later part of January and will try to rectify the existing technical problems being faced during power transmission. The government has also decided not to further hike the power tariff this (fiscal) year. This will require the state government to bear the subsidy of Rs 362 crore to bridge the revenue gap to be faced by Assam Power Distribution Corporation Limited," power minister Rakibul Hussain today said here at Dispur.

Hussain's announcements about 24-hour electricity supply have come despite the fact that the corporation, a state government-undertaking company, loses about 27 per cent of electricity during transmission because of poor network.

Sources said work to revamp the power transmission system in the state had not yet been completed because of problems being faced in land acquisition to lay new poles.

"The APDCL and Assam Electricity Regulatory Authority had recommended power tariff hike but we have decided not to go for further hike keeping in mind people's interests," Hussain said.

No further hike in power tariff, although was hailed by the Consumer Legal Protection Forum, a consumer rights body, it said the decision ahead of the 2016 Assembly election seemed it to be a pre-poll sop to woo the consumers for votes in favour of the Congress.

"Since the government had not taken such measures in the past few years and only decided a few months ahead of elections, people will definitely think it is election-oriented," the convener of the forum, Ajoy Hazarika, said.

He is also a member of the governing council of the Consumer Co-ordination Council, New Delhi, an apex body of 84 leading consumer rights' bodies in the country.

The Assembly election is likely to be held in April-May.

Asked if the announcements were election-oriented since the Congress government had not provided such power subsidy in the past 14 years, Hussain was quick and straight. "If the election-oriented decision helps people, you can call it so."?

The Congress, which is in power for the third straight term and is eyeing the fourth, have faced flak from consumers because of hike in power tariff and frequent cuts in supply.

Officials of the corporation in many parts of the state have faced consumers' ire with many even resorting to ransacking of offices.

Assam procures power from the National Power Dispatch Centre-controlled agencies to meet its peak hour (6pm-11pm) demand of 1,450MW, against its local generation of only 350MW.

Assam at present has about 35 lakh electricity connections in the state.

Nagaon incident

Hussain said he suggested the corporation to revoke the action against Pinku Deka, a sub-divisional officer of the company in Nagaon, who had allegedly circulated a text message against the minister.

Deka was part of an APDCL team, which was carrying out drive against power theft in the district.