CHENNAI: The new power tariff that came into effect last month in Tamil Nadu has increased the State’s power subsidy component, which the government has to pay to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco), by nearly Rs 2,630 crore compared to the previous financial year.
The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has recently approved the State government’s proposal to reimburse Rs 12,007 crore to Tangedco for the subsidy component for the financial year 2022-23. A senior Tangedco official said during the 2022-23 financial year, the Tamil Nadu government will give Rs 5,284.32 crore as a subsidy for domestic consumers and Rs 5,926.95 crore for the agriculture sector.
According to the revised Tangedco tariff, the first 100 units are free for all domestic consumers (Rs 4.50 per unit), while a 50 per cent subsidy is being given for the second 100 units (101 to 200). Free power is being given for agriculture connections.
For farm power, a subsidy of Rs 1,980.94 crore would be paid by the government to Tangedco for 162 days (from April 1 to September 9) under the old tariff and Rs 3,065.09 crore for the remaining 203 days till March 31, 2023, under the new tariff. The State will also pay Tangedco Rs 880.91 crore as a subsidy component under the self-finance farm power scheme, another official said.
The government was providing a subsidy of Rs 2,874 for each HP of power consumed by farmers under the old tariff. This has been revised to Rs 3,550 per HP under the new tariff regime. The official also pointed out that in the first phase, the State-owned power utility has requested the government to release Rs 4,438.20 crore for the first half year of 2022-23 based on the subsidy approved by the regulatory commission.