It might be the hottest summer in
11 years, but, come the first of April, citizens of Andhra Pradesh will have to start paying through the nose for the privilege of staying cool.
The AP Electricity Regulatory Commission has allowed power distribution companies (discoms) to increase the tariff by upto 23% starting tomorrow. This is on top of the so-called Fuel Surcharge Adjustment being levied on the people by the discoms.
Charges will go up on an average of 15% for domestic consumers, 22% for industrial consumer, 34% for commercial consumers, and 19% for light industry. Agricultural consumers will continue to be supplied power free of cost.
The hike is to be telescopic in nature. The price per unit (for domestic consumers) for the first 50 units will remain Rs.1.45, the same as at present. However, you will have to pay Rs.2.60/unit, for 50 units consumed after that. The next 50 units of electricity will be billed at Rs.3.25/unit, and the following 50 will be at Rs. 4.88/unit, and so on, and so forth.
Reportedly, the discoms had pushed for a non-telescopic 45% hike in the tariff, allowing them to collect Rs.12,723 crore in terms of revenue. However, in view of restrictions placed by the APERC, they stand to make Rs.6,500 crore this fiscal.
In a new development, for the first time, discoms are liable to refund the money to consumers, if the power they purchased is priced lower than the price levied onto the consumer. At the same time, further charges can be slapped onto the consumer if the discoms purchase power costlier that what the consumer is being charged.
Apart from the hike in tariff, delayed payment charges, consumer charges, and minimum energy charges have also been increased. Distribution companies have also been allowed to levy FSA over and above the already hiked charges.
So, switch off those fans and lights, or hope that we'll all get up on the 'morrow, and find out that it's an April Fool's Day joke.