Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced that the peak hour electricity charges for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the state has reduced to 15 per cent from 25 per cent as per a report by the Press Trust of India (PTI). The duration of peak hours is for four hours, from 6 to 10 in the morning and evening.
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The MSMEs had to pay higher tariff during peak hours since September 10 when the revised electricity rates had come into force. Several industry representatives and associations have been requesting the state government to reduce the peak hour charges since the roll-out of the revised tariff.
“Considering the important role of MSMEs in spurring economic growth and providing employment, the government accepted their request and decided to reduce the power charges during peak hour to 15 per cent from the earlier 25 per cent to low tension electricity connection (Low Tension III-B) consumers,” the government said in a release.
Associations representing the MSME industry highlighted the need to decrease the tariff charged for High Tension (HT) and Low Tension (LT) consumers.
Referring to the reduced charges, the government said that the move will greatly benefit the MSMEs in Tamil Nadu.
In July this year, the government had announced increasing the power tariff for consumers of state power utility Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).
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Meanwhile, the state’s electricity minister, V Senthil Balaji in August said that the tariff revision has been suggested because Tamil Nadu Electricity Department was under severe stress and had to pay high interest on its loans.