Micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) that received their electricity bills this month got an indication of the impact of the revised tariff order.
J. James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises, said a unit that used to pay ₹80,000 as bi-monthly tariff now paid ₹ 1.2 lakh. The units had half the period under new tariff and half under earlier tariff and yet the tariff hike was very high. “We will see the full impact next month when the entire consumption period will be under new tariff,” he said.
“The industries fear high electricity tariff from next month. Such high amount will be unbearable for the micro and small-scale units,” Mr. James added.
The industries need reduction in tariff and not subsidies or incentives. There was a period in the past when industries had to pay several and high taxes. The situation is different now since the industries are facing high cost of production due to various factors. The units are paying 150 % higher property tax, high cost for running licence, and garbage tax, even if there is hardly any waste generated from a unit. So, the MSMEs will be unable to pay such high power tariff too, he said.
An official of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) said the new tariff came into effect from September 10. In the case of High Tension (HT) industries, the readings were taken from the day the new tariff came into effect. However, for the Low Tension and LT CT consumers, for the other fixed charges, the average was taken. The revised tariff will reflect fully in the bill that the units get next month.
