After nine years of waiting owing to vote-bank politics of successive governments, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) approved a steep 37% hike in power tariff for one year, effective from April 1. The move would not only be expected to generate an additional revenue of R7,874 crore for Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO), but also help it to recover its full costs in the ensuing financial year of 2012-13. Opposition parties, including arch rival DMK and DMDK, apart from the several industries entrenched in the state, have not only criticised the steep hike, but also sought a rollback.
In order to bail out the debt-ridden, cash-strapped Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, TANGEDCO, along with TANTRANSCO (Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation), had moved a petition with TNERC in November last year for a 37% hike to mobilise additional revenue of R9,742 crore. However, after a series of meetings with stakeholders, including consumers, industries, farmers, etc, across major cities over the past three months, the ERC has given its go ahead for a hike to mobilise only R7,874 crore across all industries. The power tariff hike will, however, not be applicable to consumers in dwelling huts with one bulb, farmers and weavers, who have been enjoying free power. According to an ERC order, as against the five-tier slab system, the new tariffs will have a four-tier slab system. The commission has ordered abolition of the concept of minimum monthly charges by fixing monthly charges ranging from R10 to R20 for domestic connections. The minimum charge hike will be R1.10 and the maximum hike will be R5.75, for those using less than 100 units and above 500 units, respectively. TNEB’s accumulated losses are estimated to be R 50,000 crore (over a period of years). The electricity board, which originally filed a petition with the ERC for R14,000 crore keeping in mind the expenditure towards ongoing power projects in the state, however, would be able to get a little less than R8,000 crore through tariff hikes. While substantial revenue is expected to be generated through low tension consumers, including domestic (over R5,300 crore), the balance would come from high tension consumers, including industries, Railways, commercial establishments, etc.
Power shift
* Minimum charge hike is R1.10 and maximum hike is R5.75, for using less than 100 units and above 500 units, respectively
* Move expected to generate additional revenue of R7,874 cr for Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company
Jaya wants power from KNPP for TN
Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa demanded on Saturday that the entire 2,000 mw power to be generated by the two units of Kudankulam nuclear power plant be given to the state in view of “severe power shortage”. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said it would be “proper and justifiable that the entire power to be generated from the the plant is made available to TN”.