Hyderabad: The state power distribution companies (Discoms) on Monday filed power tariff revision proposals with the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) seeking tariff hike of 50 paise per unit for domestic consumption and Rs 1 per unit for all the remaining sectors for 2022-23 for LT (low-tension) consumers. For HT (high-tension) consumers, they sought an increase by Rs 1 per unit.
The hike for LT consumers will impose an additional burden of Rs 2,110 crore and for HT consumers Rs 4,721 crore. Together, the tariff hike proposals impose an additional burden of Rs 6,832 crore on all types of consumers.
The TSERC will conduct public hearings on tariff hike proposals before granting approval. The increased power charges are likely to come into force from April 1, 2022.
The Discoms (TSSPDCL and TSNPDCL) submitted the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Retail Supply Tariff to TSERC for 2022-23.
However, the subsidies being extended by the state government to the agriculture sector, SC and ST domestic consumers, hair salons and laundries as well as concession of Rs 2 per unit to power looms, poultry farms, spinning mills and others, will continue as usual.
About 25.78 lakh consumers are being benefitted from free and uninterrupted power supply to the agriculture sector. Similarly, free power supply will be provided to SC and ST domestic consumers up to 101 units per month as well as 250 units per month to salons run by the members of Nayi Brahmin community and laundries run by washermen (Rajaka) community.
Power tariff hike from April 1 appears to be inevitable as there has been no tariff revision in Telangana since 2015. TS Discoms are reeling under huge losses with no tariff revision for the last six years. The two waves of Covid pandemic also had a severe impact on the finances of the Discoms. Further, the Centre’s policies also led to the increase in power generation and transmission costs which include increase in clean energy cess from Rs 50 per tonne to Rs 400 per tonne, coal cost by about Rs 800 per tonne, railway freight charges by 40 per cent in the last four years and also increase in petrol and diesel prices.
The Discoms filed ARRs with a revenue deficit of Rs 10,928 crore for 2022-23. While the Discoms are estimated to incur an expenditure of Rs 53,054 crore to supply power, the revenue earnings are estimated at Rs 42,196 crore at the present tariffs. The tariff hike will help generate additional revenues of Rs 6,831 crore and another Rs 4,097 crore will be generated through government support and internal efficiency measures.
