All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leaders across the state staged protests against the electricity price hike in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu assembly opposition leader and AIADMK’s interim general secretary Edappadi Palanisamy staged a demonstration in Chengalpattu, while many AIADMK leaders conducted protests at various places. The Tamil Nadu government hiked the electricity tariff for domestic usage as well as industrial usage on September 10. Political Parties in Tamil Nadu have asked the government to withdraw the new tariff as people are getting affected by the price hike of various basic necessities including food and fuel.
"Last two years, the people in the state got badly affected by the economic crisis and loss of employment induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the government introduced electricity tariff hikes and property taxes at a time when people and businesses started to recover from the economic downfall. Have you (DMK) considered how people will survive such hikes?" asked former Tamil Nadu CM Palanisamy.
With the repeal of the fixed charges for domestic consumers on September 10, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) accepted the new tariff proposed by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) for domestic and other categories and it also allowed the annual revision of tariffs due to inflation. The revised charges after the first 100 units will be Rs 2.25 per unit for 101-200 units, Rs 4.50 per unit for units between 201-400 and Rs 6 will be charged per unit for the units between 401-500.
Former ministers MC Sampath and RB Udhayakumar conducted protests in Cuddalore and Madurai respectively. Former Tamil Nadu ministers M. R. Vijayabhaskar, KA Sengottaiyan, KP Anbazhagan, and KV Ramalingam staged protests in Karur, Gobichettipalayam (Erode district), Dharmapuri and Soorampatti (Erode district) respectively.