SHILLONG, Aug 19: The Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC) admitted the review petition filed by the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) employees’ association against the special tariff for Byrnihat Industries Association (BIA).
The MSERC heard the matter on August 6 and admitted the review petition on August 16.
The MeECL employees, under the banner of the Joint Action Committee, flagged concern over the contentious and much-talked special electricity tariff offered exclusively to members of the BIA.
In their review petition filed on December 17 last year, the Association had pointed out several loopholes on how the special tariff to these units was arrived at, while also maintaining that such an arrangement could further weaken the revenue returns to the cash-strapped MeECL.
Moreover, many political parties, in their letter to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, had called for a review into the special electricity tariff offered to industries.
As per the special tariff, the rate offered to the industries is lesser than that available to the general consumers and, perhaps, maybe the only kind of tariff in any part of India where general public pays more than the industries.
The rate offered to the industries under BIA is flat rate of Rs. 4.9 per unit energy charge without fixed charge, whereas all other categories of consumers including domestic consumers pay both the energy charge as well as the fixed charge.
