PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry Electricity Department (PED) has proposed an enhancement of tariff for consumers from April 2023 to Joint Electricity Regulatory Authority for Goa and the Union Territories (JERC) as well as levying an additional surcharge of 10 % for FY 2023-24 from existing 5% to all the consumer categories as a percentage of the total Energy and Demand charges payable by the consumer towards the recovery of past accumulated deficit.
According to the proposal, PED has proposed to increase the energy consumption charge by 40 paise in the domestic category. It has proposed levy of charges from Rs 1.90/ unit to Rs 2.30/ unit for the first 100 units, from Rs.2.90/ unit to Rs.3.30/ unit for the next 101-200 units, Rs 5.00 per unit to Rs 5.40. units for the next 201-300 units and Rs 6.45/unit to Rs 6.85/ unit for the above 300 units consumer. The fixed charges have been kept unchanged at ₹30 for each slab.
Under the low tension category, the tariffs have been proposed for an increase of 30 paise for the first slab and 10 paise for subsequent slabs while keeping the fixed charges unchanged at ₹75/month. The proposed charges are from Rs 5.70 / unit to Rs 6.00 0/ unit for the first 100 units, from Rs 6.75 / unit to Rs 6.85 / unit for the next 101-250 units, Rs 7.50 per unit to Rs 7.60. units for above 250 units.
In the HT category, the increase is 15 paisa per unit , while keeping the fixed charges unchanged. PED has proposed to hike the existing energy charges from Rs 5.30 per unit to Rs 5.45 unit for HT Industries and from Rs 5.45 per unit to Rs 5.60 per unit for HT Commercial. For HT-II, charges have been proposed for enhancement from ₹5.30 per unit to ₹5.45 per unit, while for HT-III PED has proposed to hike the existing energy charges from Rs.5.15 per unit to Rs.5.30 per unit.
One hut one Bulb (OHOB) connections have been converted into metered connections hence, from 1st April 2020 they have been charged as per metered tariff upto 50 units at INR 1.00/ kWh and No Fixed Charges. If the consumption exceeds 50 units then the Domestic tariff shall be applicable.
For agriculture and cottage industries there is no change in tariff proposed.
PED in its petition to JERC has proposed the changes in the Tariff schedule for FY 2023-24 in order to bridge the partial cumulative gap of Rs 471 crore in 2022- 2023 to ₹365 crores in 2023-2024 through enhancement of tariff and levying an additional 10 per cent surcharge on power consumption.
The PED maintained that the average power purchase cost has gone up to ₹6 per unit from Rs 5.60 paise Now due to budgetary constraints the Puducherry government is also unable to support with subsidy except for life Line Services/ One hut one bulb services consumers for whom the government gives 50 % subsidy, officials said.