Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Goa Forward Party (GFP) today has expressed strong opposition to the recent 3.5% hike in power tariffs, which came into effect on June 16, 2024, following the approval by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC).
“This tariff increase places a totally unwarranted financial burden on the residents of Goa, who are already grappling with the high cost of living in the state. The,, Electricity Department’s rationale for this hike-reducing reliance on budgetary support is unjustified,” said GFP President and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai.
He further said that the JERC appears to be treating the electricity department like a power distribution corporation and trying to impose the latter’s business model on a government department, which will result in a significant impact on domestic and non-commercial consumers.
“The department’s proposal to gradually align the average billing rate with the Average Cost of Supply (ACoS) does not sufficiently consider the financial strain this will impose on ordinary citizens,” he added.
Vijai also said that the government has failed to recover over Rs 1,000 crore in dues, as noted by various stakeholders, including myself and other opposition leaders. The administration should prioritize the collection of these arrears from power guzzlers who have been evading payment under the pretext of pending legal matters.
“Many properties used for commercial purposes are still being billed at domestic rates. This discrepancy not only results in significant revenue loss butt also unfairly distributes the financial burden among honest, bill-paying citizens,” he added.
The MLA also demanded an immediate rollback of the power tariff hike. Instead, the government should focus on recovering outstanding dues and correcting billing classifications.
“Additionally, there needs to be a concerted effort to improve the quality of power supply to ensure that consumers are receiving value for the charges levied,” he added.
