Bhubaneswar, March 31: Be ready to pay more for power and milk - two basic requirements of everyday life - from tomorrow morning.

The Odisha State Co-Operative Milk Producers' Federation (Omfed) has increased the price of milk by Rs 2 a litre, while consumers will now have to pay 10 paise more for each unit of power they consume above first 50 units.

The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission had announced the power tariff hike last week.

Omfed public relations officer Subas Chandra Tripathy said: "As the production cost goes up, the management has decided to hike the price of premium (high-fat) milk. Now, each litre of premium milk will cost Rs 40 instead of Rs 38."

The price of toned (low-fat) milk, however, remains the same at Rs 34 per litre. Both fat and protein components are higher in premium milk compared to toned milk. Now, Omfed produces 5.5 lakh litres of milk every day. "Last year, we had even procured 6 lakh litres milk per day. The cost of the power, which will go up from tomorrow, will also adversely impact the production of milk. There is no other way than going for price hike."

In view of the rising demand for milk, Tripathy said: "Omfed is planning to set up two plants - one at Baranga and another Odashapur - to meet the demand for more milk. The plants will come up over 51 acres."

The rise in the prices of milk and electricity has, however, left home-makers a miffed lot.

Home-maker Madhumita Pradhan said: "It would be tough to make ends meet now. I have a six-year-old daughter. She depends heavily on milk for her daily diet, and I buy two litres of milk every day. Now, I will have to spend more to buy the milk. To make things worse, I will have to pay more electricity as well."

Anu Mohapatra, another home-maker, said: "This is just the beginning of summer and scorcher days are ahead when one would not be able to live in house without using the air-conditioner. Now, I pay around Rs 1,200 a month for power bill. I am afraid I will have to pay at least another Rs 400 more every month, which will also hit my monthly family budget."