Noida residents unhappy with the UP electricity tariff hike, will approach CM

Residents of Gautam Budh Nagar are unhappy with the Uttar Pradesh electricity regulatory commission’s (UPERC) decision to increase tariffs for the current financial year, bringing about an average increase of 11.69%.

“We had made out the case before the UPERC for fixation of separate tariff for Noida in terms of the provisions contained in Central Electricity Act, as well reduction in tariff for Noida on the basis of line losses being as low as 3.25% in Noida as against 30-40% in other UP towns. We had also provided justification for abolition of fixed charges. We will contest the hike before the appellate tribunal after studying relevant facts,” said AN Dhawan, former secretary general of federation of Noida residents’ welfare authority (FONRWA).

The high rise and township residents will have to pay fixed charges of Rs 110 per kw per month and energy charge of Rs 7 per kw, an increase of Rs 1.5 per unit.

Residents blamed the state government for the hike, saying that the hike was to cover losses incurred by the administration.

“This decision of increasing tariffs has been taken just to cover the losses faced by the government. Residents have been used as sacrificial goats to cover losses through increased prices. In the last three years, the tariff has been increased by around 35% in total. The decision of single point connection is good but again, they want us to install new electricity meters which will again put financial burden on residents. They should use the installed meters,” said Rajesh Sahay, secretary general of FONRWA.

RWAs are now planning to reach out to the chief minister’s office against the tariff hike. “We will be holding a meeting with all the RWAs in a day or two and then we approach chief minister Yogi Adityanath against the tariff hike decision. Gautam Budh Nagar generates the maximum revenue for the state and that should be taken into consideration,” said Yogendra Sharma, president, FONRWA.

The farmer community is also not happy with the decision of the 9% tariff hike for them. “On the one hand, government is giving ₹6,000 to farmers but on the other hand, they will take away much more than that from them. Farmers have already been fighting against electricity tariffs and this decision shows that the government has no actual will to help out farmers. Such decisions will only intensify our protests,” said Tikam Singh, a farmer from Nangli Wazidpur.

Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh has said strict steps like increase in tariff are necessary to set up an advance electricity system in place and to provide 24 hour supply to villages. “Such measures are important if we want to have better set-up in place. As far as the farmer community is concerned, I will have to analyse the increased tariff of 9% to find out the actual impact. We will raise our concerns with the CM if the increased tariff affects farmers adversely,” said Singh.

First Published: Sep 04, 2019 13:47 IST