Hyderabad: The power distribution companies (discoms) have proposed to deliver a sledgehammer blow on consumers by imposing a burden of around `13,000 crore on various categories of consumers from April 1, 2013.
The discoms have proposed to introduce a non-telescopic billing system, which is an indirect way of raising the power bills. The present billing system is the telescoping billing system under which consumers pay the tariff as per the slab.
For example, if a consumer uses 150 units of power, they will pay `1.45 per unit for the first 50 units, `2.60 for next 50 units and `3.60 for next 50 units. But under the proposed system, there will not be such slabs and a consumer who uses 150 units, then he/she will have to pay `3.60 for the entire 150 units. Thus a consumer who uses 100 units currently and pays `202.5 as bill, will have to shell out `260 in the next financial year for the same 100 units.
The tariff hike proposal submitted by the discoms to the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) on Saturday appears on the face of it to have spared the poor and the lower middle class. But the introduction of the non-telescopic billing methos would ensure that they too would have to spend more.
In the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARRs) for the year 2013-14 that was submitted to the APERC, the discom officials said that the cost to service per unit is around `5.25 per unit. The discoms are expecting a revenue deficit of `18,000 crore for the next fiscal. However, with the government subsidy to the tune of `5,000 crore, the discoms are left with a `13,000 crore deficit, which they want to impose on the consumers.
The officials of AP Transco and other discoms were in touch with chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy during the last three days and he is reported to have given them a go-ahead for all proposals. The state government, however, does not intend to change its policy of supplying free power to agriculture consumers.
GRAPHIC
Proposed tariff under non-telescopic billing system
Category: LT Domestic
0-50 units: `1.45
0-100 units: `2.60
0-200 units: `5.65
0-300 units: `6.15
0-500 units: `6.50
Above 500 units: `7.00
Category: LT Commercial
0-50 units: `5.40
51-100 units: `7.35
Above 100 units: `8.35
Category: Industry
All units: 5.37
Existing tariffs under telescopic method
Category: LT Domestic
0-50 units: `1.45
51-100 units: `2.60
101-200 units: `3.60
201-300 units: `5.75
301-500 units: `7.25
Category: Commercial
0-50 units: `3.85
51-100 units: `6.00
Above 100 units: `7.00
Category: Industry General
All units: `4.80
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