Telecom infra players urge states to slash power tariff

Telecom infrastructure providers' body Taipa on Thursday said ithas written to state governments seeking a reduction in power tariff on the lines of Maharashtra as a relief measure for the industry amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC) has reduced electricity tariff by 10 to 15 per cent to boost industrial and commercial sector in the state and announced several other measures for relief, according to Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (Taipa) statement.

Taipa -- whose members include Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers, ATC, etc -- said the infrastructure companies have installed more than five lakh towers supporting around 100-crore subscribers ensuring smooth telecommunications connectivity in the country.

It said that seamless operations of the telecom infrastructure comprising telecom towers is necessary to ensure uninterrupted connectivity round the clock to support work from home, delivery of various critical services and maintain communication across the state including for those involved in the rescue and preventive operations against coronavirus at various levels.

"Therefore, at this critical juncture, the requirement of having such kind of support is needed for the hour when the country is passing through one of the most debilitating epidemics in the form of COVID-19," Taipa said.

The industry body haswritten letters to 26 states and two union territories seeking relief. This includes all North Eastern states, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, etc.

"We believe that our submission would merit the kind consideration and looking forward for the supportin making a progressive step for the benefit of the consumers like Telecom Infrastructure Providers (IP-1) by supplying electricity at the lower rates for telecom tower operations in all the states in view of present situation due to COVID-19 outbreak," Taipa Director General TR Dua said.

The industry body said that relief on the line of Maharashtra government will support telecom infrastructure providers in view of present situation as the usage of telecom services and telecom infrastructure (telecom towers) has increased manifold, which requires uninterrupted and a lot more supply of electricity for round the clock connectivity.