Andhra Pradesh: Election Commission to take call on power tariff

Hyderabad: In an indication to over 2.5 crore power consumers that their electricity bills are going to rise once again because of elections, the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has written to the Election Commission of India regarding whether they can issue an order for a proposed revised power tariff by the end of March.

“The APERC had written to us for revision of power tariff as they are also covered under the Model Code of Conduct. We have sent the letter to the head office. A decision on this issue is likely to come in a few days,” said Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal.

The APERC sought the revision of tariff following submission of an Annual Revenue Requirement for the financial year 2014-2015 by all four Discoms (power distributing companies) last December.

In the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR), the discoms had proposed a hike in power tariff that would burden consumers to the tune of '9,340 crore.
Except for the farmers, the proposal would have an impact on all categories of consumers in the state.

The distribution companies (discoms) had sought the hike citing a huge gap between average cost and revenue realisation.