Restructuring of electricity tariffs need to happen sooner than later: Finance secretary

‘People need to start paying for drinking water, smart metering required’

Restructuring of electricity tariffs in Tamil Nadu needs to happen sooner than later and people should be ready to pay for drinking water supply which can be monitored through smart metering systems, Finance Secretary S. Krishnan said. Speaking during a panel discussion on the Tamil Nadu Budget 2020-21 organised by the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Mr. Krishnan said the government was not comfortable with the expenditure situation and subsidies in utilities, especially the electricity board. “Some of our electricity consumption subsidies are clearly unsustainable. The restructuring of electricity tariffs needs to happen sooner than later,” he said. He said the issue of electricity being given to the farm sector also needed to be addressed and this was an issue that none of the political parties even wanted to speak about.