In a relief to small domestic consumers, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission has revised the power tariff slab; partially restoring the old structure before the power tariff was increased in May. There will be much relief to consumers using power between 201 to 400 units.
“The Commission has observed that the proposed rationalisation would definitely benefit the consumers in the range of 200 to 400 units where the percentage increase in bills would come down on an average by 15 per cent,” DERC Secretary Jayashree Raghuraman said.
Giving an example, she said the monthly bill of a consumer consuming 201 units as per existing rate would have been Rs964.80 which will come down to Rs745.50 following reintroduction of 201-400 slab which means a reduction of tariff by 22.73 per cent
As per DERC calculation, the monthly bill for consumption of 400 units will come down by 4.17 per cent as the bill would be Rs1,840 instead of Rs1,920.
Raghuraman said all the three private distribution companies have been told to make suitable adjustments in the next bills to provide the benefits of introduction of 201-400 units slab. The DERC made the announcement on Monday.
The DERC had revised the power tariff slab in the month of June this year. Not only had the tariffs gone up, but the Commission had also changed the slab. In the slab that was introduced in the month of June, the household units consuming 0-200 units paid Rs3.70 per unit, while those from 0-400 units were charged at Rs4.80 per unit. The revision had resulted in a steep hike in electricity bills.
The DERC on Monday while switching back to the old power tariff slab also announced a hike in the tariff rate. From the earlier Rs4.80 for consumers using 0-400 units of power, those consuming between 201-400 units will pay Rs5.50. “The rationalisation will benefit
consumers in the range of 200-400 units where the percentage increase in bills would come down on an average by about 15 per cent,” said a DERC official.
The DERC through a public hearing earlier this month had called for suggestions from the various stakeholders. It had also received about 300 recommendations from various stakeholders all across the city. The resident bodies of Delhi are calling it a clumsy attempt of the DERC to rectify the previous mistake. They have also criticised the Commission for not considering the other demands.
"It is time that DERC as an office should shut all business and thus, save money which will then give a higher relief to the consumers who are reeling under the impact of arbitrarily hiked tariffs over the past 10 months," said Rajiv Kakria of Greater Kailash Resident Welfare Association. The resident bodies are also of the view that the DERC has revised the slab but it has failed in every aspect of regulation and has not approved of the CAG audits into the accounts of the discoms. "When the power tariffs are hiked, it is at the rate of 24 to 28 per cent and when it is lowered it is only a matter of few paise," said BS Vohra of East Delhi RWAs Joint Front.
with thanks : Daily Pioneer : Link
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