In the run-up to the assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a big bonanza for the farmers and has decided to give a 50 per cent rebate in electricity rates relative to the current rates for private tube wells of the farmers in the state.
The announcement was made through a tweet on Thursday evening on the UP chief minister’s official twitter handle.
As per the decision, under the rural metered private tube wells, farmers who were paying Rs 2 per unit will now have to pay Re 1 per unit while the fixed charge has been slashed to Rs 35 per month from Rs 70 per HP (horsepower).
The announcement suggests that the rural unmetered private tube well consumers will have to pay Rs 85 per month/per HP against the existing rate of Rs 170 per month/per HP.
Similarly for urban consumers, per unit charge has been slashed to Rs 3 from Rs 6 and fixed charge from Rs 130 to Rs 65 per HP.
This is the second big-ticket announcement for the power consumers as earlier the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) had announced in August that electricity rates would remain unchanged from last year. The current tariffs will be in place for all consumer categories in 2021-22.
The UPERC also rejected the UP Power Corporation's application to modify the slabs of categories and raise rates by 10-12 per cent based on regulatory assets.
“The upcoming assembly elections has likely played a key role in the government decision not to boost interest rates as well as slash the electricity rate of private tube wells,” a senior official said.
