Power tariff hike opposed

By Our Staff Reporter
Guwahati, June 4: Participants at the public hearing conducted by Assam Electricity Regularity Commission (AERC) today opposed the proposed power tariff hike and said the exercise  of conducting such hearings are meaningless as bulk of the suggestions given by the participants are ignored. “The power department is pushing the burden of its inefficiency on the consumers, which is ucceptable,” Ajoy Hazarika of Consumers Rights Legal Protection Forum said. He said his organization has been attending the public hearings conducted by the AERC since 2010. “But 99 per cent of the suggestions given by the participants are ignored, making the whole exercise meaningless,” he said. Hazarika also questioned the logic of holding such a hearing in Guwahati as consumers from far-flung areas cannot afford to attend it even if they want to do so.  “There is no point in holding such hearings when it cannot cater to a cross section of consumers,” Hazarika said, alleging that it is a violation of the rights of the power consumers. While the peak-hour power requirement in the State is 1,300 MW, Assam produces 700 MW of power annually. There is a shortfall of 250 MW in normal times.