`Electric shock': Telangana hikes power tariff by 14%; 1.54 Cr consumers hit

Hyderabad: Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) has decided to increase retail power tariff by 14 percent.

The power tariff is being increased after a gap of five years in the State. However, for domestic consumers in the category of 1-50 units, the power tariff is being revised after a gap of 19 years.

The hike will be 14 percent against the present tariff. The ERC approved the Discoms' proposal to increase 50 paise per unit for domestic consumers and `1 per unit for High Tension (HT) consumers. For the first time, the ERC did not consider the transmission losses in aggregate revenue requirement (ARR).

There are around 1.54 crore power consumers. Power distribution companies (Discoms) will collect Rs 5,596 crore as additional revenue in 2022-23. Discoms proposed to collect an extra amount of Rs 6,831 crore for 2022-23 but the ERC gave permission for only Rs 5,596 crore collection.

There is no tariff revision for hair-cutting salons consuming up to 200 units per month, cottage industries, agro-based activities, and electric vehicle charging stations. Customer (service) charges have also been increased from the present minimum of Rs 25 to Rs 40 (0-50 units) to a maximum of Rs 80 to Rs 160 (above 800 units) for domestic users. The power tariffs for Financial Year2023 took into consideration the subsidy commitment of the government.

TSERC chairman T Sriranga Rao said the average cost of service increased from Rs 6.04 in 2018-19 to Rs 7.0 per kWh in 2022-23, which translates to an increase of 16 percent. The increase is due to the increase in the major cost components such as power purchase cost, distribution cost, and transmission charges.

The commission has approved the proposals of Discoms for the introduction of the optional category of green tariff for High Tension industrial and commercial consumers for fulfilling their requirement of procurement of renewable power.

Discoms have proposed the green tariff of Rs 2 per unit against which the commission has approved the green tariff of Rs 0.66 per unit. The commission has directed the Discoms to achieve 100 percent agriculture distribution transformers metering within two years.

T. Sriranga Rao said the commission was tasked with the mandate to determine the tariffs which reflected commercial principles and also safeguarded consumers' interest and recovery of the cost of electricity in a reasonable manner.