Power tariff to increase for all categories except domestic consumers in 1-125 units slab from Saturday

The electricity tariff would go up by 22 paisa per unit for all categories, except domestic consumers in the 1 to 125 units slabs, according to a statement.

The tariff order passed by the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC) for 2023-24 on Friday has put average cost per unit at Rs 5.82 per and the average tariff hike is four per cent, it said.

The revised power tariff would come into force from April 1.

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The commission has estimated the annual revenue requirement of Rs 6,595 crore of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEBL) in view of "uncontrollable parameters", the statement.

There has been no increase in the fixed demand charges to be paid by consumers, and considering the long pending demand of industrial consumers, the demand charges have been reduced to 85 per cent from 90 per cent, it said.

The commission has approved a three per cent rebate on energy charge for consumers availing prepaid metering facility and continuing 15 per cent rebate is being provided to new industries and industries doing substantial expansion.

Imposition of water cess on hydro generation imposed by the state government would increase the per unit cost by Rs 1.20 to Rs 1.30 but the increase would not be passed to the consumer as the government has decided in-principle to subsidise the hike and neutralise the impact of water cess on HPSEBL consumers, the statement said.

The state government has announced to give subsidies to domestic and agriculture consumers at last year's level.

The subsidised tariff would be 30 paise per unit for agriculturists while domestic consumers in the 1?125 unit bracket would pay nothing. Consumers in the 126?300 unit slab would pay a subsidised rate of Rs 4.17 per unit, and above 300, the subsidised rates would be Rs 5.22.

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