Electricity consumers in urban areas pay higher development charges

Electricity consumers applying for a new service connection in Coimbatore city or any other urban area in the State are being charged higher development charge for the last few days.

For instance, if the development charge for a single phase connection was ₹ 5,192 about a month ago, it is ₹ 9,487 now. Similarly, for a three phase connection, the charges have increased from ₹ 12, 717 to ₹ 21, 912 per new connection. This is the case for domestic connections too.

An electricity consultant in Coimbatore said that if the deposit amount was increased, the consumer would get it back. But, the hike is in development charges and it is a steep increase. Consumers get to know about it only when they submit an application for a new connection.

An official of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) said the problem was due to a technical glitch and it would be set right in a week or so. For consumers who are paying higher charges till then, the additional amount will be refunded.

“We are combining the softwares and so for any urban area, the system is collecting the development charges for underground electricity cables, even if the area does not have the underground power cables. This issue was taken up with the head office and it will be set right,” the official said.

A. D. Thirumoorthi, technical advisor to the Indian Wind Power Association, said the Tangedco has to get the approval from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission to collect higher development charges.

However, areas covered with underground cable need to be mapped properly across the State. Small areas where underground cable was laid for one or two connections cannot be taken as underground cable covered place. A large area should be brought under UG cable. This is an issue that was taken up with the Tangedco earlier too, he said.