KCR hikes power tariff by 14 per cent

HYDERABAD: The Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) approved retail supply tariffs by 14 per cent. After a gap of six years, the new tariff will come into effect from April 1. As a result, the hike in charges is 50 paise for domestic consumers and Rs 1 per unit for other categories.

Customer charges have also increased frdomesom the present minimum of Rs 25 to Rs 40 (0-50 units) to a maximum of Rs 80 to Rs 160 (above 800 units) in the LT-I domestic category per month. There is no tariff revision for LT-II (D) category, which includes haircutting salons consuming up to 200 units per month.

The retail supply tariffs for FY 2022-23 have been determined by the TSERC after taking into consideration the subsidy commitment of state government for certain categories of consumers to maintain uniform tariffs across the state.

There is no tariff revision for LT IV (A) cottage industries and LT IV (B) agro-based activities category. There is no increase in energy charges for EV charging station categories.

The commission has approved the Discoms proposals of the introduction of the optional category of green tariff for HT industrial and commercial consumers for fulfilling their requirement of procurement of renewable power. The Discoms have proposed the green tariff of Rs 2 per unit against which the commission has approved the green tariff of Rs 0.66 per unit. The commission has directed the Discoms to achieve 100 per cent agriculture distribution transformers metering within a period of two years.

Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, TSERC chairman T. Sriranga Rao said the commission was tasked with the mandate to determine the tariffs which reflected commercial principles and also safeguarded consumers’ interest and recovery of the cost of electricity in a reasonable manner. The commission determined the tariffs balancing the interest of all the stakeholders, he added.

Discoms had to submit circle wise, area wise time-bound action plans for the reduction of AT&C losses, whenever the losses were more than 15 per cent, he said. If Discoms had not reduced the AT&C losses below 15 per cent, then the commission would take strict action, he said. The commission directed the Discoms to submit a time-bound action plan for the replacement of existing metres with prepaid smart metres with two way communication in the interest of revenue realisation, he explained.