The Hindu Business Line : MERC hikes tariff for REL, Tata Power

Power consumers in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra will now have to pay more. Consumers may also have to brace themselves for facing power shortages in the coming months.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has increased the power tariff for Reliance Energy and Tata Power by five to seven per cent with effect from October 1. The new tariff structure will remain in force till March 31, 2007. While consumers of Reliance power will have to shell out 7.5 per cent more, those of Tata Power will have to pay 5.6 per cent more.

In addition to this, consumers of Reliance Power will have to bear an average increase of 24 per cent. This is due to the commission's decision to recover the revenue gap of Rs 350 crore through an additional energy charge of Rs 0.97 per kWh, which will be payable by all consumer categories, except below poverty line (BPL) category, for the six month period. The commission has also decided that in case of any inter-utility power exchange within the State other than the `contracted' power procurement, the rate applicable would be marginal cost of the supplying utility.

The commission has determined the tariffs so that the cross-subsidy is reduced without subjecting any consumer category to a `tariff shock' and also to consolidate the movement towards uniform tariffs throughout Mumbai.

New Category

In another significant initiative, the commission has introduced a new category for BPL consumers, who consume less than 30 units per month - the tariff for these consumers has been specified as 40 paise per unit.

The Commission has noted that Maharashtra is passing through a phase of "acute power shortage", with even Mumbai, which had so far been spared of load shedding, likely to face power shortages in the coming summer months. "In the absence of additional capacity in the region and the prevailing constraints in transmission corridor availability, there is an urgent need for energy conservation and load management by all power-intensive consumers. In order to achieve this, the commission has adopted the principle of economic signals for high consumption consumers to inculcate the habit of energy conservation," it pointed out

All residential and commercial consumers, who consume more than 300 units per month, and industrial consumers will have to reduce their monthly consumption to a level of 80 per cent in the corresponding month.

More Stories on : Power | Maharashtra | Reliance Energy Ltd | Tata Power Co. Ltd

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