Let consumers chose their power provider, Gurudas Kamat writes to Chavan

Mumbai: After Sanjay Nirupam and Priya Dutt, another Congress MP from Mumbai, Gurudas Kamat is weighing in on the issue of power tariff.

Kamat has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) asking them to leave it to the consumers to decide their power providers.

Kamat says in his letter that the consumers be allowed 'open access' so they can choose the power provider they want.

His letter to CM and MERC reads, "The Electricity Act of 2003 permits "OPEN ACCESS' there-by giving a choice to the consumer to select any provider offering better services or rates.

Kamat says that as the Tata Power, one of the private discoms charges less per unit, the company should be directed to cater to consumers who want to change over to its services.

"The TATA electric company rates, I am told, are nearly Rs 2 per unit less than the other company in the market, up to a consumption of 300 units. A request is hereby made that all consumers whose electricity consumption is 300 units be allowed to switch to Tata Electric Company," read the letter.

The Maharashtra Cabinet had in January cleared a reduction in power tariff by 15 to 20 per cent across agriculture industry and domestic consumers.

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam was on a hunger strike in the last week of January in front of Reliance Energy Divisional Office to demand a reduction in the power tariff in Mumbai.

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