Goa, Delhi Power Ministers publicly debate tariffs in both states

In a unique political face-off, Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday faced Goa Power Minister Nilesh Cabral on Monday in a public debate over the pros and cons of power tariff models in place in both the states.

The debate follows a public dare made last week by Cabral for a debate with the AAP Power Minister, after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a major poll announcement earlier this month, had said that if his party forms a government in the coastal state, it would provide free electricity to the tune of 300 units for domestic consumers.

During the debate between the two Power Ministers, Cabral maintained that if a government provides freebies or heavily subsidises essential commodities like power, then it would have to make good the loss of revenue by taxing the residents of the state via other clandestine means.

“Nothing is free in this world. Whatever they are providing for the people of Delhi is taken from the taxpayers of Delhi and besides their government's borrowings run into crores of rupees... The Delhi government at the same time is subsidising power rates to benefit the private power distribution companies who are rakingin profits," Cabral alleged.

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The Goa Power Minister also said that the state already had one of the cheapest power tariff structures in the country.

“In Goa, our tariff structure is different. Here, the Goa government is itself the distributor and we have kept rates low. Our power tariff no matter how many units one uses doesn’t go beyond Rs 4 per unit for the consumer. In Delhi, if you cross 200 hundred units, even after the subsidy from the government, the rate is higher than what is paid for the same number of units in Goa,” the Goa Minister said.

Responding to the charge, Jain claimed that 87 per cent of the population in Goa would stand to benefit from the AAP poll promise of zero charges for the first 300 power units.

"87 per cent households in the state would get a zero bill. This would result in huge savings for households," Jain said.

“For how long you are going to keep giving excuses? The people of Goa will judge whose plan for Goa is better,” Jain also said.

The roots of the public debate between the two Ministers comes two weeks after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a major pre-poll announcement announced free 300 units of power for domestic consumrs in Goa, if the party comes to power in the 2022 state assembly polls.

Kejriwal also promised 24x7 uninterrupted electricity, as well as waiver of outstanding power bills and free power for farmers in the state.