OERC’s revised power tariff after election

Gridco has urged for upward revision of bulk supply price from 276.66 paise per unit to 326.77 paise

BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) is likely to announce new power tariff for the current financial year after simultaneous election to Assembly and Lok Sabha.

Though the Commission completed the process of public hearing for determination of tariff for 2019-20 in February and passed the order after due consultation with the State Advisory Committee, it could not notify the tariff order in view of the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct by the Election Commission.

Sources in OERC said the tariff proceedings were completed by the third week of March. However, the code of conduct came into force from March 10. Since the new tariff order is likely to influence the voters, OERC decided to notify the new tariff after completion of the election and re-polling, if any, are over.

In 2014, the tariff order was notified after completion of polls to Assembly and Lok Sabha in the State, sources said. The new tariff order will be made effective retrospectively from April 1, 2019.The Commission had kept the power tariff unchanged for 2018-19. However, sources familiar with the tariff proceedings said the possibility of a hike for the current year may not be ruled out.

The State-run power trading utility, Grid Corporation of Odisha Limited (Gridco), has urged OERC for upward revision of bulk supply price from 276.66 paise per unit to 326.77 paise per unit to meet its annual revenue requirement for 2019-20. The utility has projected its revenue requirement for the current fiscal at `9,134.21 crore.

The bulk supply tariff of Gridco is based on the power purchase cost of State power generating companies and other sources, transmission loss and its own establishment cost. The State-run power generating companies, including Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) and Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) have also asked for higher generating cost. Similarly, Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) and the four power distribution companies have demanded higher tariff for transmission and distribution respectively.

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