CHENNAI: A day after the MSME manufacturing units shutdown protest, MSME Minister TM Anbarasan on Tuesday said that the entrepreneurs' demand for electricity tariff would be taken to the knowledge of the chief minister and redressed soon.
After holding discussions with representatives of 12 MSME associations along with Industries Minister TRB Rajaa here, Anbarasan told reporters that the consultation meeting was held at the direction of the chief minister after they held a protest putting forward a five-point charter of demands.
He said that the association has sought a reduction of the fixed charges which was increased by 430 per cent, scrapping of peak hour charges and network charges collected for rooftop solar generation, a multiyear tariff hike should be cancelled and the MSME consumers with a connected load of less than 12 kiloWatt should be shifted to LT tariff 3A (Cottage and Tiny Industries) from LT 3B (Industries).
"The chief minister will consider their demands and take all steps to protect the manufacturing units, " he said.
J James, coordinator of Tamil Nadu Industrial Electricity Consumers' Federation, which spearheaded the protest on Monday, said they put forward their demand to reduce the fixed charges to the level of Rs 35 and other demands. "Both Ministers Anbarasan and Rajaa assured to take it up with the chief ministers and get back in three days' time, " he said.