Mahavitaran proposes 40% hike in electricity charges
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has submitted its proposal to Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) seeking a hike in electricity charges by 40 per cent per unit. If MERC approves the proposal, power users from Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kanjurmarg, Bhandup and Mulund, along with rest of the state will get a shock in next month's bill. Monthly charges of residential power consumers will be charged double or up to Rs 60 for 100 units.
The hike is expected to affect about 50 lakh consumers. According to the MSEDCL's tariff proposal, the per unit charge for consumers using up to 100 units of power will be increased to Rs 4 from Rs 2.86, while for 101-300 units users, it will jump to Rs 5.05 from Rs 4.86 per unit.
For users consuming 301500 units, the unit charge will rise to Rs 7.05 from Rs 6.84 while for 500-1,000 unit consuming users, it will advance to Rs 8.1 from Rs 7.9 per unit. Users with more than 1,000 units will be charged Rs 8.35 per unit, up from Rs 8.16. The charges include a fuel adjustment cost of 25 paise per unit.
The hikes are aimed at reducing the MSEDCL's revenue gap of more than Rs 5,100 crore. The final tariffs will be announced by MERC.
The president of the Maharashtra State Power Consumers' Association, Pratap Hogade said after taking into account the proposed increase in fixed charges, the effective tariff hike for consumers who use up to 100 units is 55 per cent.
However, Mahavitaran clarified that the proposed hike is just eight paise per unit. The corporation has proposed a subsidy of Rs 1 per unit for industrial consumers and 0.5 per cent rebate for consumers who pay electricity bills online.