CII opposes power tariff hike in Andhra

Suchitra K. Ella, chairperson CII Andhra Pradesh, expressed her concern over the proposed power tariff hike for electricity consumers in general and industry in particular.

"The proposed hike is expected to have a burden of Rs.607 crore for small scale industry and Rs.4,728 crore for large scale industry annually," she said in a statement.

The industry body said the power tariff hike would lead to increase in the cost of production, making industries less competitive compared to other states.

Ella felt that instead of hiking the tariff, the government could have reduced the power subsidies and resorted to better expenditure management methods to bridge the revenue deficit.

The proposed tariff hike comes at a time when the industry is already facing several hardships such as imposition of fuel surcharge qdjustment (FSA) and impact of global slowdown, she said.

"The industry is unable to meet the minimum production demands due to frequent power cuts and two-three days power holiday for industries," she added.

Power distribution companies Saturday proposed unprecedented hike in power tariff from coming April to raise Rs.12,723 crore during 2013-12. The proposals submitted to Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC).