Consumers using around 101- 200 units have to pay Rs 35 to Rs 150 a month more
The above-500 unit consumption range, in which the commercial establishments as well as the industrial sector will fall, will have to pay at least 4.75 per cent higher than the existing rates. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: More than 13 lakh middle and upper class consumers under GHMC limits will be affected if the new proposals to hike power tariff, as submitted by the two Discoms, are accepted.
However, out of a total of 37.6 lakh connections in the city, more than 17 lakh will be unaffected as they consume less than 100 units a month. They can continue to pay the existing tariff of Rs 1.45-Rs 2.60 per unit per month. Consumers in the above-200 unit and below-500 unit range (roughly 7.24 lakh consumers), will also have to bear the brunt, according to the new proposals.
The above-500 unit consumption range, in which the commercial establishments as well as the industrial sector will fall, will have to pay at least 4.75 per cent higher than the existing rates.
The 13 lakh consumers who consume around 101 units to 200 units a month on an average will have to be ready for an extra burden as their power bill is expected to go up by Rs 35 to Rs 150 a month. Those who consume 200 units will get a power bill of around Rs 665, which includes service charge. But if they consume even 201 units, they will move into the next slab and their bill will go up by not less than Rs 240, i.e. about Rs 860, said officials.
“Most middle class households in the city consume between 190 units to 200 units and if they don’t take precautions, there is every possibility that they would cross the 200 mark,” a senior official of the TSSPDCL explained.
Although the total number of consumers in domestic sector is 31 lakh, only 28 lakh are being billed and the remaining three lakh have been mentioned as door-lock cases, according to TSSPDCL authorities. If the entire TSSPDCL zone, which covers parts of Medak, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts, is taken, the total number of consumers comes to around 52 lakh. Most of Greater Hyderabad comes under this area in which the number of consumers in the 0-50 units range is 21 lakh; 51-100 is 11 lakh; 101-200 nearly 13.25 lakh and above 200 units range, 7.24 lakh.
Meanwhile, The Telangana Congress deputy leader in the Legislative Council and former energy minister Shabbir Ali on Wednesday warned the TRS government of mass agitation in case it failed to withdraw the “unjustified power tariff hike” from April.
Addressing a news conference at CLP office on Wednesday, the former minister said the power tariff hike would impose a burden of over 1,000 crore annually on people of Telangana. Mr Ali reminded people that the TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, before the general elections last year, had promised that he would either waive or reduce the charges if he came to power. However, the chief minister is doing exactly the opposite now. He said it is wrong on the part of government to claim that without the hike in tariff, the Discoms would get financially weakened.
( Source : dc )
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