66% increase for BPL consumers with variable charges to shoot to Rs 3.3 from Rs 1.99 a unit 66% increase for BPL consumers with variable charges to shoot to Rs 3.3 from Rs 1.99 a unit

Residents of Mumbai’s suburbs may have to brace for a steep hike in power tariff in the 2015-16 fiscal with Reliance Energy, the Mumbai power distribution arm of Reliance Infrastructure, having proposed an increase of 10 to 45 per cent for domestic consumers.

Besides, the company has also proposed a 66 per cent increase in electricity tariff for below poverty line consumers with the variable charges for these users to shoot to Rs 3.3 a unit from Rs 1.99 a unit.

Reliance Energy has proposed the tariff structure to recover a cumulative revenue gap of Rs 1,582 crore since 2012-13. It has submitted its tariff petition to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), the state’s power regulator, which will take a final decision on the tariff structure after public hearings and recording suggestions and objections.

“Retail tariff of 0-100 units and 101-300 units residential consumers is increased at a lower rate as compared to the other categories. However, the impact of increase in tariffs of consumers using more than 300 units will not be as much due to the telescopic benefit available from lower slabs,” the company said in the petition.

Accordingly, among domestic consumers, excluding the below poverty line category, Reliance Energy has proposed the steepest hike for those consuming 300 to 500 units, with the variable charge to rise by 45 per cent from Rs 7.75 a unit to Rs 11.27 a unit, as per the tariff petition. Similarly, high-end consumers using more than 500 units will also feel the pinch with the company having proposed a 34 per cent hike with the variable charge to rise to Rs 13.97 a unit from the existing Rs 10.45 a unit.

Reliance Energy has proposed a 10 per cent and 16 per cent rise, respectively, for consumers using between 0 to 100 and 101 to 300 units.

The company, which supplies power to users from Bandra to Bhayander on the western side, and Chunabhatti to Vikhroli and Mankhurd on the eastern side, and adjacent areas of Thane district, has 20 lakh residential consumers, of which about 18.5 lakh fall in the under 300 units a month bracket.

The company, with an overall user base of 29.12 lakh, has justified the proposed increase, saying if the cumulative revenue gap is deferred to later for recovery over a longer time, it will accumulate interest cost over time and also burden future consumers with past costs.

“The company realises that there will be a significant increase in retail tariffs for fiscal 2015-16. However, the increase lasts only for a period of one year and thereafter retail tariffs would not only drop, but also show a nominal changes due to year-on-year cost variations,” the company said, adding that it had tried softening the impact on small and marginal consumers using less than 300 units a month.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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