Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has come up with a proposal to increase power tariff soon by 15 per cent for domestic consumers to rake in better profits for the bleeding Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO). TNERC’s proposed hike may push up domestic tariff prices between 40 paise per unit and 85 paise per unit with high-tension lift irrigation consumers taking the maximum brunt with a steep increase of Rs 3.72 per unit.
Among various slabs of domestic consumers, the maximum increase of tariff for those who are consuming over 500 units will go up to Rs 6.60 per unit from Rs 5.75 per unit. The least hike for consumers who consume less than 100 units goes up to Rs 3 per unit from Rs 2.60 per unit. On an average, the power tariff goes up by 15 per cent for all the low-tension consumers except industries whose tariff increase by 31 per cent.
The commission has proposed an average tariff hike of 41 per cent for high-tension industries. Maximum hike of 106 per cent has been proposed for the lift irrigation followed by 60 per cent increase for government and aided educational institutions. Besides hike in tariffs, an increase of Rs 10 (bi-monthly) in fixed charges has been proposed for domestic users, and an increase of Rs 50 in demand charges (monthly) for HT users.
At existing tariff, TNERC has determined a revenue requirement of Rs 39,818 crore, against its revenue of Rs 32,964 crore for 2014-15. The corporation would face a deficit of Rs 6,854 crore. To bridge the revenue gap, the commission has proposed tariff hike across all consumer categories and thereby bringing down the deficit to Rs 49 crore.
For the first time in the state, the commission has taken a suo motu decision to revise the power tariff in the wake of the corporation’s failure to revise it on its own. “As per the financial restructuring plan (FRP) requirement, the tariff is to be revised every year covering the aggregate revenue requirement,” the commission said. However, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, in a statement, said her government would take the burden of tariff hike imposed on the poor and public by the commission, through subsidies.
TNERC has invited objections and suggestions from the public about its proposals following which a meeting of the state advisory committee will be held. Public hearings will also be conducted across the state to elicit views of the public. Tangedco will now have to file petitions stating if they concurred with the ARR and tariff determination of the regulator.
