In a major relief to electricity consumers, the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPSERC) said there was no increase in power tariff for any category of consumers in the order issued on Saturday for current fiscal 2022-23. The new tariff order will come into force as soon as it is notified by the state government.
In the last tariff order issued in September 2019, the regulator had ordered a hike by 8-15 percent for different categories of consumers.
In its latest order, the power regulator has effectively reduced the tariff for different categories of consumers. The power tariff for the consumers in Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, has been slashed by 10%. The maximum power tariff of Rs 7 per unit for the urban domestic consumers has been reduced by Rs 0.50 to Rs 6.50 per unit. Now, those consuming above 500 units per month will attract a tariff of Rs 6.50 per unit instead of Rs 7 per unit. The power tariff for the rural consumers has been reduced to Rs 5.50 per unit from Rs 6 per unit.
As per the order, on consumption of 150 units per month, the tariff will be Rs 5.50 per unit. For the consumption of 150-300 units per month, the tariff will be Rs 6 per unit. The tariff for consumption of more than 300 units will be Rs 6.50 per unit against the earlier tariff of Rs 7 per unit.
The tariff for BPL category consumers for up to 100 units consumption per month will remain at Rs 3 per unit.
Earlier, only 19 lakh power consumers were covered under the minimum slab of Rs 3 per unit. Following the tariff rationalisation, the number of such consumers increased to 1.39 crore.
The UPSERC has directed UPPCL for 100% metering of the power connection of existing and retired employees of the power utility. The regulator has computed it as a deemed revenue of Rs 422.50 crore from this head so that the burden is not borne by other power consumers.
To check power theft, the regulator has directed the UPPCL to expedite the installation of 40 lakh smart meters. The UPPCL has also been directed to submit the technical/financial impact of the smart meter rollout on their system.
“The UPSERC has undertaken tariff rationalisation, wherein slabs have been reduced from 80 to 59 by merging the higher tariff slabs with lower ones and merger of some of the categories. As a result, the highest tariff of slabs for most of the categories of consumers now ceases to exist,” UPSERC secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh said.
“The tariff rationalisation will lead to economic growth of the state besides reducing the cross-subsidy burden on commercial and industrial category consumers,” he added.
The power regulator has also hiked the efficiency standards for the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. The regulator rejected the 17.05% AT&C loss claimed by the UPPCL and determined the tariff based on the line losses of 10.67%.
The regulator also did not allow any expenditure towards smart meters. The regulator, in its order, said the expenditure on smart meters would be funded through efficiency gains by reducing line losses.
The regulator approved the green energy tariff of Rs 0.54 /kWh for all categories of consumers, except domestic and agriculture.
In order to promote multipoint connections in highrises, the regulator has abolished 5% additional charge given to the builders on single-point connections for expenses towards supply of electricity, distribution loss and maintenance.
UPPCL for 2022-23 filed an ARR (annual revenue requirement) of Rs 85,504.81 crore for purchase of 126.52 billion units of energy. The regulator, however, approved an ARR of Rs 78,075.80 crore for purchase of 121.47 billion units.
The regulator approved an increase of 7.4% energy sales against 3.82% proposed by the UPPCL for 2022-23. The regulator said the hike in energy sales had been approved on account of more than 20% increase in energy sales for the period April-June 2022 with respect to the corresponding period in 2021.