Friday, August 26, 2011

Power in Delhi to cost more; DERC raises tariff by 21.77%

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) Electricity will now cost more to the people of Delhi, with power regulator DERC today raising tariff by 21.77 per cent.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) announced its new tariff policy laying out the increase, which though substantial from the consumers'' point of view is much less than the 50 per cent sought by the discoms.

The new rates would come into effect from September 1.

The DERC did not announce any new tariffs last year.

The new tariff comes at a time when the high court is considering whether or not the Comptroller and Auditor General should scrutinise the accounts of the discoms.


with thanks msn :  http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5395019



Delhi :Now electricity bill to pinch your pocket


New Delhi: People already reeling under highinflation will now have to shell out more on electricity billswith city's power regulator on Friday announcing a nearly 22 percent hike in tariff for almost all categories of consumers.

In more bad news for consumers, the tariff may also go up every three months as regulator -- DERC -- decided to reviewthe electricity rates quarterly to adjust the power purchasecost of the distribution companies.

The new rates, announced today after a prolongedcontroversy, will come into effect from September one.



"We have decided to increase the tariff by 21.77 percent. The hike is necessary as power sector is not insulatedfrom inflation and other market parameters," P D Sudhakar,chairman of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission toldreporters.


As per the new rates, a domestic consumer will be chargedRs 3 per unit for first 200 units of power instead of currentRs 2.45. The rate for per unit of power has been increased to Rs4.80 from current Rs 3.95 per unit for usages between next 200unit to 400 unit while Rs 5.70 per unit will be chargedinstead of current Rs 4.65 for usages beyond 400 unit.


The monthly fixed charges for consumers having asanctioned load of upto 2 kilowatts have been increased fromRs 24 to Rs 30 while consumers having sanctioned load between2 kilowatts to 5 kilowatts will have to pay Rs 75 as fixedcharges instead of current Rs 60.

The fixed charges for consumers having a sanctioned loadof above five kilowatt will have to pay Rs 15 instead ofcurrent Rs 12.

Sudhakar said DERC will adjust the rates after everythree months depending on increase in power purchase cost. Hesaid power purchase cost keeps changing due to increase ordecrease in cost of fuel used for production of power.

For the non-domestic consumers, the rate has been increased from Rs 5.40 to Rs 6.50 per unit of power for those having a sanctioned load upto 10 kilo watt while per unit ofpower has been hiked to Rs 6.10 from Rs 4.92 per unit forconsumers having sanctioned load between 10 kilowatts to 100kilowatts.

The DERC announced separate rates for industrial units,agricultural activities, public lighting etc.

For Delhi Metro, rates have been increased to Rs 3.80 from Rs 3 per unit while for Delhi Jal Board it has been hikedto Rs 5.60 from Rs 4.70.

Citing severe liquidity crunch, all the three privatepower distribution companies in the city have been demanding ahike in the range of 50 to 60 per cent.

In May last year, the city government had through anotification stalled DERC's decision to announce the annualtariff for 2010-11 till it re-examines the demands fromdiscoms to increase the rates.

The DERC, which was making last minute preparations toannounce the new tariff, after receiving the governmentdirective had indicated that it had planned to cut down thetariff by 20 to 25 per cent as discoms would have a surplus ofaround Rs 4,000 crore if the existing tariff was not changed.

Although DERC was strongly arguing for a cut in tariff,the three-member regulator, following retirement andsubsequent appointment of two new members, gave indication oftaking a sympathetic approach to the demands of the discoms.

The government's notification was quashed by DelhiHigh Court in February, describing the intervention as"absolutely unjustified, unwarranted, untenable".

While effecting the hike for the private discoms, theCommission has kept electricity rates at significantly lowerlevel for NDMC areas where power is distributed by the civicagency itself.

For first 100 units, a consumer in the NDMC area willhave to pay Rs 2 per unit while it will go up to Rs 2.70 forunits between 101 and 200. The per unit charge will go up toRs 3.60 for usages between 201 and 400 units and for above 400units it will be Rs 4.35 per unit.

He said DERC has decided to entrust Institute ofChartered Accountants of India to check physical verificationof assets of the discoms.


with thanks : zee News : http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/delhi-now-electricity-bill-to-pinch-your-pocket_728531.html   for detailed news.

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