Odisha Assembly on Tuesday saw a sharp exchange between ruling BJP members and opposition Congress and BJD legislators over electricity supply, tariff rates, and the rollout of smart meters.
Opposition’s Concerns
Congress MLAs alleged that despite Odisha being a power‑surplus state, many villages still lack electricity. They demanded tariff reduction, removal of smart meters, and special concessions for farmers. Legislators highlighted frequent unscheduled power cuts, high consumer bills, and inadequate relief for rural households. They argued that while industries receive subsidised power, ordinary consumers and farmers remain burdened.
BJD members criticised the government for spending Rs 5,000 per smart meter compared to Karnataka’s Rs 800 retrofit model. They accused the state of showing undue favour to distribution companies by allocating Rs 735 crore for smart meter installation.
Ruling Party’s Defence
BJP legislators countered that earlier governments failed to provide reliable electricity. They praised reforms introduced after the new government took charge, stressing that smart meters have eliminated billing errors and improved transparency. They pointed out that Odisha now has 1,195 primary substations, up from 1,017, and 14,733 power transformers compared to 11,562 five years ago.
Minister Nityananda Gond, replying on behalf of the power department, said consumer numbers rose from 76 lakh to 97.4 lakh, while technical and commercial losses dropped from 29.48% to 16.55%. He added that 9.57 lakh families received free connections under the Saubhagya scheme, and farmers pay the lowest tariff at Rs 1.25 per unit.
Assembly Outcome
The debate ended with the government asserting that Odisha’s power sector has improved significantly, while opposition members insisted that rural consumers continue to suffer from outages and high costs.
