Maha Cold Storage Association Demands Government Support to Prevent Cold Storage Industry from Collapse Due to MSEDCL

Pune: Cold storage plays a crucial role in ensuring food security and preventing wastage of food and agricultural produce. However, it is a capital-intensive industry with a long return period. Establishing multipurpose cold storage facilities will be in the national interest, allowing storage of various food items and agricultural produce from farmers. However, the rising electricity tariffs have put this business in a severe crisis. Over the past few years, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has significantly increased electricity rates, and this year too, it has proposed a steep hike. The Maha Cold Storage Association has demanded support from the Maharashtra government to sustain the cold storage industry during a press conference.

The press conference was attended by Rajkishor Kende (Pune) – President, Purushottam Navandar (Ahmednagar) – Vice President, Tushar Parakh (Pune) – Secretary, Bipin Revankar (Pune) – Vice President, Aditya Jhunjhunwala (Nagpur) – Vice President, Pratik Mehta (Ahmednagar) – Treasurer, Anil Korpe (Pune) – Joint Secretary, Pradeep Mohite (Karad) – Committee Member, Kushal Sancheti (Pune) – Member, Pandurang Shinde (Pune) – Member, Sarvesh Kulkarni (Pune) – Member, among others.

The association’s President Rajkishor Kende stated that in 2010, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) had ordered agricultural electricity tariffs to be applied to cold storage units. However, in 2016, a new category named ‘Agricultural-Other’ was introduced, leading to a substantial increase in electricity rates for cold storage. In 2023, MERC further increased the tariffs, delivering a major shock to the industry by equating cold storage tariffs almost to industrial rates. Surprisingly, MERC approved tariff hikes beyond what MSEDCL had proposed. The association filed a petition with MERC, but the response was not as expected. This year, MSEDCL has proposed tariffs even higher than industrial rates, putting the entire industry in jeopardy. This surge in electricity costs will result in increased storage charges and ultimately contribute to food inflation.

Vice President Purushottam Navandar pointed out that due to ambiguous regulations, MSEDCL has been limiting the definition of cold storage to deny them special electricity concessions. This has led to confusion among cold storage owners and officials. Some officials have even made erroneous decisions, leading to situations where certain cold storage units are not granted agricultural electricity rates.