All Assam Students' Union opposes power tariff hike, to stage protest on Feb 1

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has strongly opposed the move of the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) to levy a Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPPA) charge of 50 paisa per unit on all categories of consumers on electricity bills for the months of January, February and March, 2023. The AASU will stage a Statewide protest against this move on February 1.

In a press statement, AASU in-charge president Utpal Sarma and general secretary Sankor Jyoti Baruah said, "The decision to hike power tariff by 50 paisa per unit is anit-people and destructive. The common people are already reeling under economic stress due to the two years of the pandemic. Moreover, the government has utterly failed to curb the sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities. Under such circumstances, the government is putting more economic burden on the people by hiking power tariff. This decision will never be accepted."

To protest against the government's 'anti-people' decision, district units of the AASU will stage protest at all district headquarters on February 1. "We demand a rollback of this decision immediately," said Utpal Sarma and Sankor Jyoti Baruah.

According to a notice issued by the APDCL, the levy has been made as per provisions of the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment) Regulations, 2010. The notice said that the relevant bills will be the ones generated in February, March and April. It also specified that "all adjustments regarding short/excess recovery due to seasonal variation of consumption within the stipulated period will be adjusted in subsequent periods or as may be directed by the AERC".

The APDCL had previously hiked the power tariff by 30 paisa per unit for the month of November, 2022, which was realized in the bill generated in December, 2022.

Also Read:  Assam Power Distribution Company Limited hikes tariff by 50 paisa per unit

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