PANAJI
There will be no power tariff hike in Goa until March 31, 2025, if the business plan presented for approval to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) by the Goa electricity department envisaging a deficit of Rs 360 crore is approved.
Approval for the business plan from the JERC however requires a long-drawn process including the mandatory holding of a public hearing wherein stakeholders are permitted to file objections and scrutinize the plan minutely.
With assembly elections due and the Model Code of Conduct expected to come into force, the JERC may be in a quandary to schedule the public hearing and the process to approve the Electricity department's business plan may get delayed beyond the March 31 deadline.
The proposed business plan, meanwhile, justifies the Rs 360 crore deficit for the three financial years from 2022-25 arguing that the shortfall will be 'subsidized' by the State government through budgetary allocations.
The State government has year after year been subsidizing the electricity department through budgetary allocations nearly to the tune of Rs 300 odd crores, a situation severally red-flagged by the JERC in the past.
The plan also does not contain any serious effort to cut down transmission and distribution (T&D) losses which average a significant 10 to 11 % annually.
Also, the business plan is silent on the question of corporatising the electricity department or converting it either into a Board or a Corporation indicating that the State government has shied away from taking a decision in a crucial election year.
