The MSMEs, commercial and other trade bodies in Mysuru have flayed the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) for the hike in power tariff.
The CESC issued the orders on May 31 and said that the Fuel and Power Purchase Cost computation for the period January 2023 to April 2023 has been finalised and the final order has been issued. It has said that the FPPCA of ₹2.42 per unit of sale to be collected in all the energy bills to be issued to all category of consumers except those coming under Bhagya Jyothi, Kutir Jyothi and IP sets of 10 HP and below.
Taking exception to what it described as a steep hike, the stakeholders from the industrial and trade bodies have hit out at the CESC and cautioned that it could cripple the industrial and commercial sector if the hike was not revoked.
The Mysore chamber of commerce & Industry (MCCI) president K.B. Lingaraju and KIADB Industrial Area Manufacturers Association (KIAMA) vice-president K. Ravindra Prabhu said the hike has come as a shock and disappointment.
They said the fixed charges rate have been increased by ₹70/HP and energy charges by 25 paisa per unit pushing industries in general and MSMEs in particular in Karnataka towards closure.
Mr. Lingaraju and Mr. Ravindra Prabhu said that even home and cottage industries have not been spared and the hike will affect dhobis, bakeries, telephone booths run by handicapped people, small artisans, job typing, Sulabh and Nirmal Shouchalaya, STD/ISTD/Fax facility etc. ‘’The projected losses of CESC to offset which it has resorted to hike, was mainly due to the wrong policies, irregularities and inefficiency of CESC,’’ they added.
The MCCI president Mr. Lingaraju urged the State Government to defer its power hike move till normalcy returns in the economy. He said the hike in power tariff has distressed the industrial and trade sector which are reeling under a range of challenges amidst local and global factors that are beyond their control.
Similar views were expressed by Suresh Kumar Jain of MSME Council and Mysore Industries Association. He said the MSME was struggling to recoup after the pandemic before which it was hit by the global slowdown in the economy. ‘’At a time when the economy was showing traces of growth, the CESC has short-circuited the growth engine through power hike. This could have a negative bearing on drawing fresh investments while the existing players may prefer to shift to other States,’’ he added.
C. Narayana Gowda, representing the hospitality sector, said that the gains made in high tourist traffic has been neutralised by hike in power tariff. For establishments which were receiving electricity bill of ₹4 lakh per month have to shell out anywhere up to ₹6 lakh per month and the cascading impact will be on the general increase in prices of all services and products, he added.
