Not through morchas, warns MERC, but by participating in public hearings with power companies to cut inevitable tariff hike First, the bad news. In April, your electricity bill could go up by as much as 45 per cent. The good news, at 
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sketch/sameer pawar</td></tr></tbody></table>least partly, is that the hike as proposed by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) although inevitable, can be brought down. All you have to do is participate in a public hearing and offer your suggestions to reduce the hike, says MERC to Mumbaikars. The four power companies Tata Power, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, BEST and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd have proposed a hike of 18 to 45 per cent in tariffs. "Only if citizens participate in the public hearing process and make constructive suggestions, can we incorporate them before framing the tariff rates for 2009-10. These suggestions would be better than agitations and morchas that won't influence our decision," said V P Raja, chairperson, MERC. A V Shenoy, member, Energy Study Group, said, "For the common man, even a marginal increase in tariff is expensive." Jitendra Gupta, member, City Action Group, said, "Our focus will be to bring together residential consumers and put pressure on the government." There are, however, only two official groups representing the people Mumbai Grahak Panchayat and Prayas, an organisation in Pune. Raja feels experts in the field should guide citizens if they want changes in proposals made by power companies. Ashok Pendse, energy expert, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, said, "We are scouting for people interested across India and will organise a training program related to these issues. What you need to know and do Write your suggestions, mark five copies to MERC, one copy to your power company and post it. Ensure it contains your e-mail id and postal address. Log on to <a href="http://mercindia.org.in/" target="_blank">http://mercindia.org.in/</a> for details. Dates for public hearing: Tata Power Company: March 24 BEST: March 25 Reliance Infra:u00a0 March 26

Not through morchas, warns MERC, but by participating in public hearings with power companies to cut inevitable tariff hike

Participate in public hearings to help cut tariff hike: MERC

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Participate in public hearings to help cut tariff hike: MERC

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