CHENNAI: In a few months, residents might have to pay double or more than existing rates for miscellaneous charges like meter rent, service connection charges, changing of meter and meter caution deposit among others.
These which come under non-tariff charges have not been revised by the state government since 2004.
This comes at a time when Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation is struggling to repay a debt amounting to a whopping Rs 7,000 crores. As these charges haven't been revised in the last 15 years, Tangedco has recently filed a petition with Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC).
The commission which has the sole authority to change any tariff rates with regard to electricity, said that it will first conduct a public hearing on September 25 before revising charges. The hearing will be held at Vani Mahal in T Nagar from 11 am to 3 pm during which the public can register their opinion on the matter.
In 2018, Tangedco had submitted the response got from various stakeholders as instructed by TNERC. Last week, the matter was taken by the state advisory committee of TNERC which proposed to hold a public hearing as the final step.
Steep hike in many tariff categories
As per Tangedco's petition, it has proposed to hike charges for getting a new service connection from the Rs 250 to Rs 600 for single phase. Currently, Low Tension (LT) connections till 112 kW are charged equally. The revision proposes to set three slabs for varying capacities, for less than 18.6 kW it will cost Rs 900, 18.-50kW it will cost Rs 2000 and 50-112kW it will come to Rs 2,900.
Also, meter rent for LT services haven't been revised. High Tension (HT) services may have to pay Rs 3,200 as against the present rate of Rs 2,000. But charges for changing meters may get costly. Currently,
Rs 150 is the fee for changing meters due to damage for all connections. But after revision, residents may have to pay Rs 580- Rs 4,040 based on the capacity.
Also, if a resident wants to temporarily disconnect a connection, there are no charges. But after revision, Rs 580- Rs 3,810 may be levied based on number of phases and capacity. Also, inspection and testing of the meter or the connection will not be done for free anymore. If the meter is burnt or damaged residents had to pay only for the cost of the meter but now additional charges ranging from Rs 580- Rs 3,810 will be collected extra.
Reconnection charges may also been hiked from Rs 60 to Rs 200 for single phase and Rs 300 to Rs 350 for three phases. For houses with overhead and underground cables the charges vary from Rs 500- Rs 750.
Other than this, hike in charges for name transfer for a connection has also been proposed by Tangedco.
As the whole matter is in the planning stage, it is unclear if people with existing electricity connections too will have to pay the revised charges, said officials. "Usually double the price of a resident's bimonthly bill is kept as a caution deposit. But after the revision they might be required to keep triple their bimonthly bill amount. But some charges will have to be paid only by people who get a new connection," added a senior official from Tangedco.