CHENNAI: CPM state secretary P Shanmugam has urged the state government to immediately withdraw the latest electricity tariff hike, warning that it would severely impact all sections, including households, industries, and commercial establishments.
In a statement, he said the 3.16% tariff increase, effective from July 1, would raise per-unit charges by 15 to 41 paise, placing an additional burden on already struggling consumers. “This hike will have a cascading effect, pushing up prices of essential commodities,” he said.
He pointed out that thousands of MSMEs had already shut down due to earlier tariff revisions, GST hike, and the impact of the COVID pandemic.
“Industries like powerlooms, engineering and garment manufacturing are facing closure, affecting lakhs of workers,” Shanmugam said.
While the State government has claimed that domestic users would not be affected, as it will bear the cost, the CPM leader said the cumulative impact of annual hikes would eventually be passed on to all consumers. “Future increases will be calculated on the revised rates,” he noted.
He also criticised the government for failing to implement a monthly billing system, a long-pending demand from consumers. He has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the tariff hike and called for monthly meter reading to ensure fairness and transparency.