Power tariff hiked by 59 paise per unit in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) has approved a power tariff hike for the financial year 2022-23 at 0.59 paise per unit. The revised tariff will be applicable from April 1, 2022.

AERC chairman Kumar Sanjay Krishna, while addressing media persons today, said, "Power tariff will increase by average 0.59 paise per unit. The revised tariff will include the energy charge and the fixed charge."

The chairman said that the three power companies – Assam Power Generation Company Limited (APGCL), Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited (AEGCL) and the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) – filed petitions to AERC and proposed a tariff hike of 38 per cent (Rs 2.41 per unit) to meet their revenue gap of Rs 2,189 crore. The AERC chairman further said, "The petitions were discussed in the State Advisory Committee held on February 25, 2022. The Commission also held a public hearing on the petitions on March 2, 2022. The petitioners and six respondents attended the hearing. In addition, two respondents attended the hearing and made oral submissions.

"After considering everything, the Commission approved the cumulative revenue gap of Rs 946 crore against the claim of Rs 2,189 crore by the power companies for FY 2022-23. Moreover, the Government of Assam announced a subsidy of Rs 400 crore to the power companies in the budget. So the net revenue gap works out to Rs 546 crore. To meet this revenue gap, a tariff hike of 8 per cent has been fixed by the Commission for FY 2022-23, which translates to an average increase of 0.59 paise per unit. The Commission has taken utmost care to protect the interest of the consumers as well as the utilities in arriving at its decision."

Krishna said that the Commission reviewed the performance of the power companies from 2020-21 and observed that due to the COVID-19 pandemic during that period, power consumption by industries had decreased while domestic consumption increased. Due to the decrease in industrial power consumption, the power companies suffered a net loss of Rs 780 crore. Moreover, the power companies had to sell surplus power at a low rate due to which they incurred a revenue loss of Rs 191 crore. The transit and distribution (T&D) loss was fixed at 15 per cent but the power companies suffered a loss of 18 per cent, which translated to Rs 158 crore. Also, during this period some hydro-electric projects were shut down due to which power had to be purchased from the Power Exchange at a higher rate. This increased power purchase cost, which added to the power companies' net loss.

He added, "There was no energy tariff hike in the last financial year, only fixed charge had been hiked. According to the Government of India, power tariff must be fixed every year by the Commission.

"This financial year the energy charges have been increased by 25 paise to 50 paise and fixed charges have been increased by Rs 10 to Rs 50/kW across different consumer categories to recover the revenue gap of Rs 546 crore. The Commission has allowed 20 per cent rebate on total energy charge to the oxygen manufacturing plants for their continued contribution by supplying oxygen during the COVID period.

"The Commission has also decided to categorize charitable organizations involved in eradicating hunger, especially for children under educational institutions i.e, General Purpose and HT Bulk Supply. The consumption limit for Jeevan Dhara category has been increased from existing 1 unit per day to 1.5 unit per day, i.e., 30 units per month to 45 units per month."

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