Small and medium industries go on strike against ‘crippling’ hike in power tariff

Bhatia said these small and medium industries were also having to pay Rs 500 per kilowatt as minimum charges along with demand charges, though no other state in the country levies minimum charges along with demand charges on small and medium industries.

G C Chaturvedi, former president of IIA, said that with the 18.4 per cent increase in energy charges, industries were witnessing hike of 35 to 50 per cent in their bills. He demanded that the government withdraw the hike in electricity duty, demand charges and minimum charges.

Chaturvedi demanded that the government ask the UP State Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPSERC) to review the tariff hike and instead of a one-time hike, it should go for smaller hikes at different time intervals.

D S Verma, executive director of IIA, said though the government announced the new tariff on October 19, it was made effective from October 1, which had made it difficult for the industries to recover their increased production cost for this period. He said the tariff should be effective from the date it was announced.