Power tariff hike is not justified

| APRIL 28, 2022, 11:25 PM IST

The Cabinet decision to hike the power tariff by 5 to 10 paise per unit has come as a mild shock to the common man who is still struggling with mounting inflation, rising fuel and LPG prices and the high cost of living. The decision comes against the backdrop of the recent election campaign that revolved around ‘freebies’ and ‘goodies’ with free power and free water topping the list. Despite being pushed to the wall by the Aam Aadmi Party with its free power formula in Delhi, the BJP government went ahead and marginally increased tariffs to complete its pending underground cabling works.

The decision to raise revenue by hiking power rates goes to explain the sorry state of affairs in the power department, much contrary to the rosy picture that the State has been projecting otherwise. The immediate question is not about a moderate hike, but the consistency of the power supply, especially during the monsoons and the struggles of the public. Goa has been facing major outages and power disruptions spanning hours causing hardships to the common man, and that has been a constant.

The decision to buy additional power in the open market to meet the requirement of industries is a welcome step, and so is the plan to set up additional sub-stations and solar stations. However, while successive power ministers exuded confidence, none could address the faults in transmission and distribution. If we may recall, it was only in 2019 that the government decided to take up a Rs 1000 crore upgrade of electricity transmission and distribution network across the State and assured to upgrading and strengthen the electricity infrastructure, which was outdated and lay crippled, in two years. It promised to bring down the transmission and distribution losses from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. The then power minister Nilesh Cabral activated a unique helpline offering his cellphone number to troubleshoot issues. A white paper on the power situation promised to complete underground cabling of all 11kV and 33 kV lines in a phased manner. We are in 2022, and still facing blackouts and power outages like usual.

While the new power minister has taken a crucial decision to hike tariffs, it is important that he releases a fresh status report on the power scenario, and whether Goa could get uninterrupted power any time soon. Raising revenue for infrastructure by hiking bills, even if it is a marginal hike, goes a long way to explain that Goans may be headed for harsher times ahead. Instead of pinching common citizens, the government should have worked out alternate ways to fund infrastructure, especially at a time when the pandemic has taken a hard toll on lives and livelihoods.

Lest we forget, Sudin Dhavalikar had failed to deliver on his repeated assurance of uninterrupted water supply in Goa during his stint as the PWD minister. Much later, the Har Ghar Jal milestone of Goa became a joke because taps ran dry forcing citizens to come to the streets demanding potable water. We hope that Dhavalikar doesn’t dole out empty promises as he did earlier as a PWD minister. Give the people of Goa at least the basics of decent living.


Share this