Panneerselvam urges T.N. government to exert pressure on Centre to rollback changes to Electricity Rules

The AIADMK’s former coordinator and former Chief Minister, O. Panneerselvam, on Monday asked the Tamil Nadu government to exert pressure on the Central government for a rollback on changes to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020.

The AIADMK’s former coordinator and former Chief Minister, O. Panneerselvam, on Monday asked the Tamil Nadu government to exert pressure on the Central government for a rollback on changes to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020.

Pointing out that in respect of day time, the proposed tariff, under the Time of Day (ToD) system, would be 10-20% less than the normal tariff and during the night, it would be 10 to 20% higher, Mr. Panneerselvam, in a statement, referred to the applicability of the new tariff for commercial and industrial consumers from April 1, 2024 and for the rest, except for agricultural consumers, from April 1, 2025.  The ToD tariff would be made effective immediately after the installation of smart meters. 

Describing the move as anti-poor, the former Chief Minister said it was an “indirect form of power tariff hike” for the domestic category of consumers, as it was during the night that people used electricity more than during the day. The proposed hike would also pave the way for inflation, he said. 

On the statement issued by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) that the domestic consumers would not be hit as the system of smart meters had not been fully implemented, Mr. Panneerselvam contended that by not commenting on the matter, the DMK government appeared to be “supporting the move indirectly.”