If proposal goes through, your electricity bill will go up by 45 per cent
If proposal goes through, your electricity bill will go up by 45 per cent
Expect your electricity bill to bloat by as much as 45 per cent in April if Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) accepts proposals from power companies to hike tariffs in the new financial year.u00a0
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Tata Power Company supplies power to 20,000 consumers in a few housing societies in Mumbai |
The proposals for tariff hikes submitted by BEST, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra), Tata Power Company (TPC) and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to MERC will make life even more difficult in Mumbai's satellite townships like Thane, Navi Mumbai and Panvel that reel under daily power cuts.
Children in these areas have no option but to read by candlelight. While the percentage of hike in power tariffs is subject to MERC approval, officials say that hike is inevitable.u00a0
A senior BEST official said, "We are proposing a 40 to 45 per cent hike in tariff to make up for the huge amount lost to under-recovery of bills, and for power purchased from costly sources."
BEST's aggregate revenue requirement from tariffs for the financial year 2009-10 stands at Rs 3193.84 crore.
Similarly, Tata Power that supplies to BEST and RInfra, apart from their own 20,000 consumers, has asked for an 18 per cent hike in electricity tariffs. "We paid heavily to buy fuel earlier from other states. Though prices have now fallen," said a TPC official.
TPC has an aggregate revenue requirement of Rs 1,380 crore from tariffs. Reliance Infrastructure has similarly sought a 30 per cent hike.
MERC will hold a public hearing on the subject after March 20.
