UPERC tariff hike proposal meets stiff resistance in SAC meeting

The power tariff hike proposal met stiff opposition in the State Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting called virtually by the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) here on Friday. Most of the members opined that this was not the right time to raise the tariff in any form, considering the financial hardships consumers of all categories had suffered due to Covid-19.

The UPERC had called the meeting to know views of members belonging to different sectors before giving final shape to the tariff order for the current financial year. UPERC chairman

RP Singh, who presided the meeting, indicated the commission might announce the new tariff order by Diwali, taking into consideration all stakeholders’ suggestions.

Opposing the proposal, UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad and SAC member Avadhesh Kumar Verma said Covid-19 had adversely affected people’s income and there was no justification for increasing tariff at this juncture. He also opposed the proposal that sought tariff increase through the backdoor by changing the existing categories of consumers and slabs of tariff. “In fact, the UPERC must think of abolishing fixed charges and reducing the existing tariff for domestic and agriculture consumers by 16% to make for the additional tariff that the discoms charged from consumers during the past one decade,” he demanded.

Indian Industries Association’s Pankaj Gupta also demanded reduction in the tariff considering the impact of the Covid-19 on the economy. He said any change in the tariff slabs was not advisable as doing so would make power costlier for some categories.

JJ Jute Mills’ Pramod Kumar opposed the tariff hike proposal and raised the issue of difficulties in billing.

Indian Smart Grid Forum chairman R Kumar and another member Anil Kumar Srivastava also advised against any tariff hike this year. Additional chief secretary, energy and UPPCL chairman, Arvind Kumar briefed members about the power reforms measures initiated by the corporation to provide 24X7 power to consumers and pointed out why the corporation needed additional revenue.

An embarrassing situation (for the UPPCL) cropped up during the meeting when UPERC chairman RP Singh complained he himself was a smart meter consumer and had not received bill for two months. This was when Upbhokta Parishad chairman Awadhesh Kumar Verma was raising the issue of quality of smart meters and the difficulties of consumers in getting bills.