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Bengaluru :Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) is quite shocked by the announcement by KERC to hike power tariffs across the board, with an increase of 25 paise and more per unit and Rs.10/- towards Fixed Charges.

In his press release at Bengaluru on Thursday, November 5, Arasappa said that the impact of the hike will be particularly disastrous for the Micro, Small and Midium Enterprizes(MSME)s as they struggle to revive operations from the covid pandemic and severe slowdown in the economy.

We had strongly urged the KERC during the tariff hearings to not only not  increase tariffs but reduce rates on industry so that this productive and paying sector can sustain. KASSIA is particularly unhappy that the tariff revision annually has become a mere ritual to prop up  the revenues of the distribution companies with no attention paid to their operational efficiencies or management practices. Even less thought is given to the plight of industry, which is the only paying sector left for these utilities.

We, therefore, strongly urge the KERC and the Government to reverse the decision and roll back the hike in order to ensure the survival of the MSMEs in particular and industry in general.

However, we welcome the decision to do away with the penalty  of additional one rupee/unit being charged on industry for consumption during the morning peak between 6.00 am to 10.00 am.