The Public Hearing held by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) over a proposal of a 6 per cent power tariff hike turned out to be a damp squib. Given the implications and the hue and cry raised across the State over electricity supply getting costlier, there were expectations of people expressing their concerns. However, a few citizens and political leaders from the Opposition space stood up, raising their arguments on various counts.
Goa has witnessed power tariff hikes in the recent past, although in small measure. The State government feels it cannot fill the revenue gap through budgetary support alone and has proposed the consumer shoulder an additional 6 per cent burden.
Electricity bill hikes have always been fiercely contested, and in 2021-22, it was even an election plank. It was a time when the 2022 assembly elections were around six months away, and the AAP campaign was at full steam with freebies on electricity and water pushing the government into the defensive. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant beat a retreat and retracted the proposed hike saying that his government would bear the Rs 120 crore burden.
Goa has moved on, and probably the rationalisation and the cutting down on bills have become a thing of the past. Mind you, the JERC, in the past, has cautioned the department over the over-dependence on budgetary support. But here's the question: is this burden on the consumer justified, especially against the fact that the quality of the power supply is poor? And, is it justified against the rising cost of living and inflation?
If the financial scenario is grim for the State, it is no better for the consumer. With this paradox in mind, the department will have to look within. There is a need to conduct timely audits to ascertain the status of supply and feeder-wise losses. Last April, the JERC had to direct the department to submit the audited annual accounts for the financial years 2017-18 up to 2020-21 after a delay of four years. Also, the department was told to submit a fixed asset register with details such as the value of assets depreciated up to 90 per cent in a year, their type and their nature. It was found that the department was lacking in consumer group-specific data too.
While transmission leakages and power thefts continue to be significant worries, the electricity department needs to put its house in order and undertake complete stock-taking and evaluation, including an assessment of power losses.
Passing on costs to the consumer is not a positive sign when there is a struggle for livelihoods, and bearing the cost is no better solution when the government is on a borrowing spree. Better transmission and management of power is the absolute need of the hour. The government will have to redraw strategies and streamline systems consciously. A final thought on Wednesday's meeting: the JERC should have factored in the sensitivity of the public hearing and scheduled it at the convenience of citizens. A public hearing without the public is an exercise in futility.
