Assocham opposes hike in electricity duty for captive power plants

The electricity duty is the highest in Odisha which is 55 paise

The industry body, Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham) on Thursday opposed the recent hike in electricity duty by 25 paise/unit for the captive power plants (CPP), which generate electricity for their own consumption.

Recently, the state cabinet had given its nod to enhance the electricity duty from 30 paise per unit to 55 paise per unit.

"Incentives in whatever forms should be made available to the industries in the nascent stage for three to five years.One such incentive which is coming in the way for the metallurgical industry is electricity duty. The duty is the highest in Odisha which is 55 paise", Sandeep Jajodia, president of Assocham told media persons here.

The rate needs to be revisited and recalled, he said, adding that the metallurgy industry needs captive power to support the manufacturing process.

He suggested that the Chhattisgarh model of incentives on electricity duty should be implemented.

Endorsing the views of Jajodia, T K Chand, Chairman-cum-Managing director, National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and chairman of Assocham Council on mines and minerals said that increasing electricity duty by 25 paise at one stroke will make the cost of production in Odisha, particularly for the downstream industries highly exorbitant.