Steel units threaten to surrender power load if ‘steep’ tariff hike not rolled back

The HP Steel Industry Association has threatened to surrender the electricity load of power-intensive units (PIUs) like steel plants to HP State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) if the recent traffic hike is not withdrawn.

The Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industry Association, HP Steel Industries Association, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and other organisations from Kala Amb, Una and other areas met Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan at Parwanoo today and requested him to withdraw the recent tariff hike, as power in the state has become costlier by 50 paise per unit than Punjab.

The associations would meet the Power Secretary on October 4 and apprise him of their concerns, said Megh Raj Garg, president of the HP Steel Industries Association. He added that the recent power tariff hike was threatening the survival of the PIUs in Himachal Pradesh. “The recent withdrawal of subsidies and the imposition of a cess on the electricity tariff have made the power rates in the state the highest in the northern region. The power tariff in the state is 50 paise higher than Punjab, thus putting an unsustainable burden on the PIUs,” he added. A steel unit at Gol Thai had already surrended its power load.

Garg said, “The PIUs are not a liability for the government and rather we contribute substantially to the state’s revenue. The PIUs are the major consumers of electricity, operate at a line loss rate of less than 2 per cent, significantly lower than the HPSEBL’s average line loss of more than 10 per cent. This demonstrates our efficient usage of power infrastructure.”

He said that the PIUs contributed over ?1,000 crore annually to the state’s revenue in the form of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). “We provide direct employment to over 10,000 individuals and also contribute more than ?50 crore annually to the state’s revenue through the Additional Goods Tax (AGT). The current high electricity tariff is jeopardising these contributions,” he added.Garg requested the Chief Minister to review the tariff policy by either reintroducing subsidies or providing alternative relief measures.

Rajiv Aggarwal, president of the BBNIA, said that the electricity tariff for large consumers (above 2,500 kVA), which covers more than 30 per cent of electricity consumption of Himachal, the cost was far higher than Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand by 20 paise to 90 paise per unit.

“A 46 per cent increase in the electricity tariff in the past two years will increase the total operation cost by around 16 per cent. This steep increase in the power tariff will push most of the industries into the red at a time when the logistics cost is already high in the region,” he added.

50 paise per unit costlier than Punjab

• The industry associations met Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan at Parwanoo on Monday
• The associations requested Chauhan to withdraw the recent tariff hike, as power in the state has become costlier by 50 paise per unit than Punjab