Power consumers from across the districts coming under the jurisdiction of Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) have voiced their opposition to the proposed power tariff hike and called for its freeze in view of the pandemic.
The CESC has sought a tariff hike of ₹2.27 per unit across all categories on the grounds that the revenue gap after considering the expenses and revenue for the financial year 2022-23, was projected to be ₹1,543.46 crore.
At a public hearing conducted here on Thursday by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) the stakeholders representing industries, general consumers and farmers were unanimous in their view that the tariff hike was unwarranted. They suggested that instead the CESC should be directed to recover arrears pending from various government departments to overcome its financial deficit besides improving its efficiency. KERC members H.M. Manjunath and M.D. Ravi conducted the hearing. .Jaivibhava Swamy, MD, CESC, made a presentation on projected expenditure and revenue gap besides highlighting various projects of CESC.
