Mumbai, July 16 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said in the state council said that the industrial electricity tariff in his state will be the lowest compared to other states.

According to the new tariff, Maharashtra’s tariff is currently Rs 8.32 per unit, which will come down to Rs 7.38 in the next phase. In comparison, Tamil Nadu’s tariff is Rs 9.04, Gujarat Rs 8.98 and Karnataka Rs 7.55.

Industrial electricity tariff in Maharashtra will remain low in the next few years. Also, the tariff will not increase due to the tariff true-up process, he added.

CM Fadnavis said this while replying to a question raised by member Abhijit Vanzari about the measures being taken to reduce the increase in electricity tariff in the state.

The Chief Minister, who holds the energy department portfolio, said that electricity procurement will now be done through the ‘Merit Order Dispatch’ method.

Due to this, electricity is purchased from private companies at cheaper rates.

Also, the cost of purchasing electricity has come down significantly due to the use of solar, wind and battery storage. Since this is a long-term (25-year) contract, electricity prices will remain stable, he added.

CM Fadnavis said that in the previous tariff petition, industrial and commercial tariffs were reduced by putting a burden on residential consumers. But due to objections to this raised by the state run power distribution company Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahavitaran), now tariffs have been reduced in all categories during the recent order released by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission.

“About 70 per cent of consumers consume electricity below 100 units and they will get a 26 per cent rate cut. Along with this, there will also be a rate cut on consumption above 100 units,” he said.

“Significant changes have also been made in the solar pump schemes for farmers and a new scheme has been introduced for booster pumps. The cost of the single pole scheme is only Rs 15,000. Farmers are ready to be provided with 10 HP horsepower solar pumps as per their requirement. If there is any complaint in this regard, it is being resolved on the Solar Unified Portal,” said the chief minister.

CM Fadnavis informed that smart meters will be installed in the agricultural sector to control electricity consumption. This will make it possible to understand exactly how much electricity is used for agriculture. This will allow accurate measurement of electricity consumption in the agricultural sector and will help in formulating future policies, he added.

According to the chief minister, a separate solarisation proposal has been prepared for lift irrigation. He mentioned that provision of electricity through conventional methods in dark zones will also be considered.

–IANS

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