Outlining measures to improve Goa’s economic performance, the NITI Aayog has said that at Rs 5.80 per kWh, the power tariff for the industry is “high” and the Goa government should consider slashing the tariff. This will make Goa’s industrial sector “export competitive”, said the NITI Aayog in a document presented to chief minister Pramod Sawant.
NITI Aayog has also asked the state government to reduce the technical and commercial losses, which, at 12.86 per cent, is also high.
“Goa has Rs 5.80 per kWh industrial tariff which is high. Hence, there is an opportunity to reduce the electricity duties and reduce tariff for industrial electricity and make industry export competitive. Tariff reforms could include expanding ‘Time of Use Time of Day’ pricing to more customers, including residential users, adjusting peak tariff slots,” said the NITI Aayog in a document shared with the state government.
Referring to the aggregate technical and commercial losses, the NITI Aayog has said that Goa electricity department should take “proactive measure” to achieve the UDAY target.
Industry bodies like the Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Goa State Industries Association (GSIA), and Goa Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (GPMA) have often complained about Goa’s erratic power supply, unplanned power cuts and inflated power bills.
The hike in power tariff has not gone down well with the high tension and extra high tension industrial consumers.
Goa ranks 28th in terms of the number of enterprises, having 0.7 lakh enterprises out of a total of 633.88 lakh enterprises in the country. The share of MSMEs in Goa is a mere 0.10 per cent of the total MSMEs in India. Udyam Registration data upto September 30 says that Goa ranks 24th in terms of the number of MSMEs (21,845) with an overall share of 0.19 per cent.
“The government shall encourage MSMEs and needs to incentivise them to make the shift to digital technology. This can be done by encouraging startups to make apps, data analysis software tailor-made for each MSME sector. This will open avenues for startups and also give MSME options for cheaper digital solutions,” said the NITI Aayog document.
