PANAJI: Time of Day (ToD) tariff will not be made applicable to domestic or low-tension power consumers, clarified Power Minister Ramakrishna Sudin Dhavalikar.
Speaking at a press conference today, Dhavalikar said the tariff structure has been in force for industrial users since 2015 and is not something new. “We are going ahead with the implementation of smart meters from next month, starting with government offices,” Dhavalikar added, seeking to clear the confusion that triggered protests across Panaji.
Earlier in the day, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders staged a joint protest outside the Electricity Department in the capital over the recent power tariff hike and smart meter rollout.
AAP Goa chief Amit Palekar demanded an immediate rollback of the hike and a halt to smart meter installation, warning of larger state-wide protests if the government fails to act.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar questioned the lack of a clear mechanism to monitor individual electricity usage, asking, how much electricity is truly saved and how much is used by the common man? He alleged that the government was attempting to seize control of smart meters through the backdoor, and that their installation would allow real-time monitoring of household consumption patterns.
Protestors also criticised what they termed “confusion tactics” by the Electricity Department, claiming that middle-class families who primarily use electricity after working hours would be disproportionately hit by the new slab system.
Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes, however, also reaffirmed that the ToD tariff applies only to industrial users and not to households.
Meanwhile, both AAP and Congress accused the government of misleading the public ahead of the 2027 polls, alleging that the tariff confusion was deliberate and reflected “administrative chaos” and “corruption” within the system.
