The Association of Power Producers (APP) in India has urged the government to take steps to keep the power costs affordable for the people in the country.

The industry body is opposing government's proposal to impose an import duty on power equipments, which might force power producers to pass on the extra cost to the power consumers. Ashok Kumar Khurana from the Association said that the power costs should be kept low to keep it affordable for everyone.

He said, "The power producer is going to pass the increased cost to consumer in generation cost, so we should look at the impact from their point of view,"

Mr. Kumar pointed out that the cost of power is already high because of variable cost, the imported fuels and the blending options and thus the efoorts are aimed at keeping the cost low so as to keep it affordable for everyone.

He estimates that the increased duty obligation would result in a 22 paise per unit increase in prices for the consumers. The reason behind imposing the duty is to assist the domestic equipment makers who are facing intense competition from Chinese manufacturers.

The Power Ministry has already moved a Cabinet note that reportedly proposes a 19 per cent duty on imported equipment for large power projects. The union cabinet has deferred its decision on imposing tariffs on power producers on import of power equipment in the country.