A Sharp Rise in Fixed Feedstocks Can Hit Small Businesses Hard | Chennai News

Chennai: Small businesses say they could end up paying up to 10 times more for power supply if tangedcoThe price increase applies as is. They are upset with the proposal to introduce peak-hour energy consumption charges, also known as ToD (Time of Day), for all low voltage (LV) power supply customers, except domestic consumers.
Tangedco proposed that LT II B(1), II B(2), III B and V rate categories be charged an additional 25% on energy consumed from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The ToD meters will calculate the energy consumed in five different time slots of the day. Apart from these, categories such as IC, ID, II C, IIIA, III B, V and VI will receive flat fees based on contractual demand.
Private educational establishments and their hostels fall under category II B (2) in which the unit charges must be reduced from 7.50 to 8.50. In addition, the fixed charges for these connections, which are €60 per kilowatt regardless of the contracted charge, have been revised in three tranches. For connections with a load greater than 100kW, the fixed loads have been increased to ` 600/kW.
So, they will end up paying almost 10 times what they paid now – from 12,000 every two months to 1.2 lakh.
Likewise, for cinemas, hotels, supermarkets, department stores, wedding halls, diagnostic centers, fitness centers, which fall under the LT V category, fixed charges, hitherto zero , were set at 700/kW. And, the unit cost has been increased by `1.45 from `8.05.
K Venkatachalam, Senior Advisor to Association of Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills (Tasma), said ToD fees were collected only from high voltage power users, mainly large industries.
“Even in industries where work takes place around the clock, lack of proper planning will lead to losses if energy is not used properly. So small businesses will have a hard time with the introduction of ToD,” he said.
Also, fixed charges mean you’ll have to pay whether or not you use electricity, he said.
KE Raghunathan, National President, Indian Entrepreneurs Association, said: “The timing of electricity price hikes is debatable when electricity prices are down. Small industries will struggle to survive.”