| DIANA FERNANDES
Earlier this week, as Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar unveiled Goa’s budget allocations the capital city went through 11 hours without electricity even as the CM promised a better power supply.
“The enhanced allocation would be used to modernize our Electricity Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure with a view to make available 24×7 uninterrupted and quality power supply to our citizens and attract industrial and commercial investments,” he said. But plans of a hike in the tariff was met with harsh criticism from locals at a recent public meeting held by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) that is given the task of handling the State’s energy needs.
Activist Lorna Fernandes took up the issue of transmission losses and the reasons contributing to this loss that was recorded between 3.5 and 5 percent. “Tapping lines add to the reasons behind these losses the department talks of. But why don’t they look into stopping people who steal electricity rather than increasing prices,” she says adding that this was not the way a Rs 929 crore deficit in the department’s finances could be plugged.
Common among most residents is the problem of billing. For months on end, the department did not issue bills and when they did finally decide to do so, bills amounting to above Rs 1,000, some even receiving Rs 5,000 as bills were met with shock. Aldona resident Maggie D’Souza says this sort of billing system was not only confusing but misleading.
“There have been instances where consumers have received bills six to eight months late and that too of exorbitant amount. It is difficult to come up with the money and the department must understand this,” says D’Souza.
Many electricity-based industries too feel the pressure when operations are affected. Anil Lotlikar, a businessman who runs a steel industry in the State says, “Voltage promised to us was 220 ±6 V but we receive it as low as 180 V. This is damaging especially if you have a business that depends on steady flow of current,” he says.
The government, however, seems insistent on the proposed hike of Rs 3.25 for residential, Rs 4.50 for commercial and Rs 3.90 for the industrial sector. They, however, insist the infrastructure will be improving as plans of including LED lighting and energy saving methods into play.
Prashant Goyal, Secretary of Power for the State at the meeting said there were no plans of corporatizing the department and they were making plans of setting up a call center to help consumers register complaints.
“Online payments is a work in progress and we will have it in place by the next financial year. Goa Electronics Limited (GEL) has been given the task of billing but we have a shortage of meter readers,” he says which is the reason behind why bills were late.
But if you thought alternative energy was the way to go, that may not be the case. “Solar paneling costs Rs 6 per unit. Today it is not economical and works out to be higher than conventionally used systems,” said S K Chaturvedi, chairman of the JERC.
Roland Martins, coordinator at the Goa Civic & Consumer Action Network (GOACAN), an organisation that deals with civic and consumer issues says there needs to be a major review of the department and its functioning before any hike is imposed.
“The department should defer from any hike. The commission needs to see the department through and through,” he said adding that something positive would come out of the submissions presented to the commission as he plans on taking the issue to the villages and municipalities.
Review Bureau
