“It’s time for Bengaluru to separate itself from other tier 2 cities and rural areas because there are no IP pools in Bengaluru city.
The government should also look at adopting the public-private partnership (PPP) model for other cities for power supply. Privatization will ensure affordable and efficient energy supply. It should also be decentralized,” he said.
Energy expert MG Prabhakar said the books of accounts close on March 31. Advance taxes have already been paid. The revision will now increase the cost of production, which will lead to losses for industrial and commercial consumers. The increase in energy tariff will also burden domestic consumers, he added.
Defending the revision, a senior Bescom official, on condition of anonymity, said, “It is not an increase but a difference of 56 paise per unit that has to be collected from consumers towards the revenue deficit for FY 2024-25. We had appealed to KERC to address the revenue deficit of an additional Rs 2,800 per crore units. KERC accounts for a deficit of Rs 2,068 crore and consumers will bear an additional cost of 56 paise per unit.
Escoms had sought a tariff review, citing the financial burden of IP groups, reduced rainfall, higher distribution of thermal power, power purchase costs and financial losses from the impact of domestic power tariff restructuring announced in the recent KERC order.
BESCOM: 56 paise per unit recoverable from the consumer
CESC: 15 paise per unit recoverable from the consumer
HESCOM: 10 paise per unit will be refunded to the customer
GESCOM: 10 paise per unit will be refunded to the customer
MESCOM: 9 paise per unit will be refunded to the customer
HUKKERI: 155 paise per unit will be refunded to the customer
WHAT IS VERIFICATION DOWNLOAD?
Every year, electricity supply companies (Escoms) operate on the basis of projected costs and revenues approved by KERC through the annual tariff order. However, actual performance during the year may differ from these approved forecasts due to changes in consumer consumption patterns, tariff revisions, input costs and other operational factors. The Annual Performance Review (APR)/Truing-Up Petition allows Escoms to reconcile the difference between approved ratings and actual results. KERC examines the petition and passes orders enabling ESCOMs to recover legitimate deficits from consumers.
