A day after the end of civic elections, power consumers got a rude shock as the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Regularity Commission (UPSERC) announced a hefty hike of 12 percent in power tariff on Thursday for the current fiscal 2017-18.
The UP Power Corporation limited (UPPCl) to cover its huge cash losses had sought an average hike of 22 percent in tariff. The hike for urban domestic consumers is 8.49 percent. The tariff for the railway traction and the lucknow metro rail has also been hiked.
In a major relief to the power consumers the power regulator has for the first time linked the power tariff with the aggregate technical and commercial losses and 100 percent revenue recovery for the current fiscal 2017-17, thus raising the bar of efficiency and standards of accountability on UPPCl.
This will deprive the UPPCl to seek further hike in power tariff next year on the ground of high line losses and high outstanding revenue. The line losses in 2016-17 were 30 percent. The current tariff has been computed on the basis of 19 per cent line loss. The power regulator has approved multiyear aggregate revenue requirement. The power utility is now bound to reduce the line losses to 15 percent by 2018-19 and 12.96 per cent in 2019-20 and ensure hundred per cent revenue realisations.
The revised power tariff would come into force within next two weeks. The UPPCl will publish the advertisement of the new tariff in next three days and it will be enforced after ten days.
Barring the small medium and micro enterprises and heavy industries all categories of power consumers will have to shell out more from December 15. The consumption based tariff hike for urban commercial consumers is 9.89 per cent and the tariff for the for the office establishments, societies and institutions has been increased by 13.46 percent. The regulator has announced relief for the shelter homes, old age home orphanages and centers for mentally retarded person by including this category of consumers as domestic consumers thus reducing the burden of electricity bill by Rs 2-3 per unit per month.
The hike would have fetched additional revenue of Rs 6,819 crore to the UP Power corporation limited (UPPCl) in full financial year of 12 months but the actual additional revenue will be only 2,112 crore in remaining four months of the current fiscal ending on March 31 next year. Despite the hefty hike in power tariff there will a cash gap of Rs 2000 crore in the accounts of UPPCl.
Announcing the tariff order for 2017-17, chairman of UPSERC SK Agarwal said the tariff for the urban domestic consumers has been increased by 8.49 percent. The fixed charges have also been increased to Rs 100 per kilowatt per month from Rs 90.
For consumption of 150 units the tariff will has been increased to Rs 4.90 per unit from Rs 4.40 per unit. For consumption up to 151-300 units the tariff will be Rs 5.40 per unit against Rs 4.90 per unit. For consumption of 301-500 units the tariff has been hiked to Rs 6.20 per unit from Rs 5.60 per unit. The tariff for consumption above 500 units per month will be Rs 6.50 per unit against the existing Rs 6.20 per unit.
The urban commercial consumer will have to pay Rs 7 a unit up to 300 units and then Rs 8 per unit between 300 to 1000 units.
For lucknow metro rail, the tariff has been hiked from Rs 5.60 per unit to Rs 6.50 per unit and minimum fixed charges has been increased from Rs 600 kilowatt to Rs 800 per kilowatt per month. The penalty of Rs 540 per kilowatt in case of excess demand by the metro rail will continue.
The regulator has also directed to implement underground cabling to ensure quality power supply in NOIDA and Ghaziabad. ``The line losses here only 8 percent which is lowest in the country and revenue collection is also high so this area deserves quality power supply. UP government has already implemented underground cabling in 10 districts’’, said SK Agarwal adding `` UPPCl has been directed to complete the project of at least 11 kV cables within one year’s time’’.
The regulator has also directed the licensee (UPPCl) to provide online facility for submission of application for new connection, name change, load enhancement and load reduction and submit action taken report.
Defending the hike in power tariff the UPSERC chairman said `` the tariff has been designed so as to compensate the rising cost of the licensees without putting excessive load on the consumers. The coal prices are increasing every year by 6 percent and railway freight by about 12 percent’’.
To prevent unmetered consumers to get metered in rural areas and pay on the basis of consumption the tariff for domestic consumers has been increased to Rs 300 per m month and it shall be Rs 400 from April 1, 2018. However metered consumers will not be impacted by tariff hike.
For the private tube wells fixed charges for the unmetered consumers have been hiked to Rs 150 from Rs 100 and for metered connections the fixed charges will be Rs 60 per months and per unit tariff will now be Rs 1.75 unit against present Rs 1 per unit.