Regulator asks UPPCL to file tariff revision proposal within 10 days

LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has directed the UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) to file a slab-wise tariff revision proposal for 2022-23 within the next 10 days. The regulator has also sought clarification on certain points in the annual revenue requirement (ARR) proposal that the corporation submitted to the commission on March 8, officials aware of the issue said.

The commission, according to them, has also sought a report on the status of installation of energy meters at the residences of personnel and pensioners of UPPCL and other energy corporations. “The commission has asked UPPCL to file a slab-wise tariff revision proposal within the next 10 days so that it could start the process for the tariff determination for the current financial year,” an energy department official said.

The commission normally takes three months to issue the final tariff order after it admits the ARR/tariff revision petition. The commission may issue the admittance order after it receives the slab-wise tariff revision proposal and also gets reply to some other issues related to ARR. Any revised tariff may not be effective before June-July.

A day after the seven-phase UP assembly polls ended, UPPCL on March 8 filed the ARR proposal in the commission as a precursor to the tariff revision (downward or upward) exercise.

The corporation put its annual revenue requirement for 2022-23 at Rs 85,500 crore and proposed to buy 1.20 lakh million units of power worth Rs 65,000 crore during the year.

The corporation projected its revenue deficit to be Rs 6700 crore during 2022-23 unless the current power tariff was revised. Filing ARR every year is mandatory for UPPCL though it is not mandatory for it to propose tariff hike or revision.

“Since there has been no tariff increase in UP for two consecutive years, the commission may make an upward revision of power tariff to help UPPCL to bridge its deficit to some extent,” another official pointed out.

“This is more so when UPPCL may have to provide free power to farmers (for tube wells) if the government decides to act upon its pre-poll promise in this regard,” he added.

Reacting to UPERC asking UPPCL to file a slab-wise tariff revision proposal, UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avdhesh Kumar Verma said there was no reason to increase power tariff in the state.

“There is no legal basis for increasing the power tariff because UPPCL already recovered Rs 13,800 crore revenue from consumers over the years by showing high losses and UPERC has admitted to this fact,” Verma said.

“Instead of increasing the tariff, the commission should lower the tariff or adjust the surplus amount that the corporation has recovered from consumers,” he demanded.