By - Imkong Walling
The Nagaland state Budget session 2025-26 is round the corner. It would be interesting to see the amount of fund the government allocates to the energy sector— a sector that has been struggling for decades, both in terms of fund allocation and cost recovery, juxtaposed by pompous government rhetoric about the necessity to attract industrial investment.
But before the government reveals the outlays in March, it would be relevant to get a peek into what the Department of Power Nagaland (DoPN) has in store for the consumers in the upcoming fiscal.
According to the latest update from the department, another tariff hike is likely.
As has been the tradition, towards the last quarter of each financial year, it submits a proposal to the Nagaland Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) requesting appraisal of the preexisting tariff. The review proposal was submitted on December 17, 2024, the information about which was publicly notified on January 30, 2025.
The review proposal is essentially an application for hiking energy tariff. Barring rare exceptions, tariff hikes get the Commission’s nod of approval without much ado. If the new rates for 2025-26 proposed by the DoPN are approved by the NERC, energy tariff is expected to increase by upto 5 percent across all consumer categories.
But what is not known to many is that the Electricity Act of 2003 allows for transparency in the tariff revision process. It allows evaluation of tariff proposals by not only the electricity regulatory commissions, but also the public.
It takes shape in the form of consumers forwarding suggestions and objections to the NERC in writing. The window for submitting consumer comments vis-à-vis the tariff proposal for 2025-26 ends on February 10, 2025.
It is followed up by a public hearing, conducted by the NERC, which is open to the public. Any consumer can get space in this hearing to, in the words of the DoPN, “Express their Objections/Suggestions on the proposed Tariff, if any.” The hearing takes place in the NERC office in Kohima.
While that is what the law allows, it is apparent public enthusiasm, rather consumer awareness, is lacking. Year after year, the tariff evaluation process starts and culminates without the NERC receiving a single comment from the consumers, implying the tariff proposals get approved with hardly any objection.
The previous process for the fiscal 2024-25, happened without the NERC receiving either a single consumer comment or turnout at the hearing. How the process for 2025-26 pans out will be known in due course, most likely in a month’s time.
The point here is that taking part in governance involves imbibing a proactive, participatory approach in all spheres, not voting alone.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
