Govt proposes hike in Power Tariff

SERC to decide after PDD's response

Mudassir Ahmad

Srinagar: The State Electricity Regularity Commission will take the decision once the Power Development Department files its response over the proposed hike in power tariff this year.

The Power Development Department (PDD) had proposed around 17 percent hike in power tariff for the fiscal year 2016-2017 in view of increasing revenue generation gap that attracted widespread criticism from various stakeholders in the state.

In a petition filed with the State Electricity Regulator Commission (SERC), the PDD had said there shall be a revenue gap of Rs. 3,572.14 crore for the FY 2016-17 at the existing tariff. However, the PDD's proposed hike in power tariff attracted widespread criticism from the business community, politicians and the common masses who had said it would put an extra burden on the consumers.

Now the regulatory body of the power tariff has sought responses from the PDD over the objections raised by various stakeholders during SERC's public meetings in Jammu and Srinagar. The traders, civil society groups in their petitions submitted before the SERC have proposed hike in power tariff.

“The SERC has decided that there will be no hike in power tariff for the next three months,” an official of SERC said.

He said the PDD has sought three months' time over submission of its responses which the SERC had asked it to reply.  “After receiving the responses from the PDD, the SERC will take the final call whether there is any need of increasing in power tariff or not,” he added.

The PDD has said the annual requirement for 2016-2017 is Rs 6,384.34 crore of which Rs 2,812.21 will be earned through the existing power tariff. “So the JKPDD proposed a tariff for additional revenue of Rs 506.52 crore which will increase the revenue generation to Rs 3318.73. The gap of Rs. 3065.62 crores shall be met through budgetary support from the Government of J&K,” the PDD has said in its petition.

As per the proposed tariff structure for FY 2016-17, the PDD wants to increase energy charges per KWH to Rs 1.35 from the existing tariff of Rs 1.19 for Below Poverty Line category of consumers having consumption up to 30 units per month.

At present, power consumption up to 100 units per month is charged at Rs 1.54 per unit and between 101 units to 200 units per month, the rate is Rs 2 per unit while as between 201 to 400 units per month the rate is Rs 3 per unit. For consumption beyond Rs 400 per month, the rate is Rs 3.2 per unit.

However, the PDD has proposed Rs 2.27 per unit up to 200 units per month by deleting the slab of up to 100 units per month. For units between 201 and 400 per month, it has proposed Rs 3.41 per unit while as for consumption between 400 and 800 units the proposed rate is Rs 3.64 per unit. The PDD has also created new slab—over 800 units per month, which will be charged at Rs 4.20 per unit.

For unmetered consumers, the consumption up to ½ KW would be charged Rs 335 per month as against present rate of Rs 89 up to ¼ KW and Rs 295 between ¼ to ½ KW.

The PDD has proposed Rs 664 per month for consumption between ½ to 1 KW as against Rs 445 per month for consumption between ½ to ¾ KW and Rs 585 for ¾-1 KW per month. As far as non-domestic/commercial metered category of consumers (single phase), till date the PDD is charging Rs 2.55 per unit up to 100 units per month, Rs 2.70 per unit for consumption between 101 and 200 units, Rs 3.9 per unit for consumption between 201 and 300 units per month and for consumption beyond 300 units per month the department is charging Rs 4.2 per unit. The department has now proposed Rs 2.9 per unit up to 100 units per month, Rs 4.44 per unit for consumption between 101 and 300 units per month and Rs 4.78 per unit for consumption beyond 300 units per month. It has deleted the slab of 101 to 200 units per month. For unmetered commercial connections are concerned, the department has proposed Rs 2192 for above one KW as against existing tariff of Rs 1925 for above one KW. For the agriculture category consumers, the PDD has proposed Rs 5.42 per kVAH as against existing tariff of Rs 4.75 for above 20 HP.