BHOPAL: Amidst farmers protest, there is another jolt for them in Madhya Pradesh. They will have to pay about 7% more to irrigate their fields using electricity from December 26. Moreover, for common consumers, the rates have been hiked by about 1.98%.
Farmers were charged Rs 700 per HP per annum but now they will have to pay Rs 50 more, an increase of 7% for them. Taking into account subsidy given by the State Government for agriculture category, consumers having load up to 10 HP shall be billed at the rate of Rs 750 per HP per annum. The consumers above 10 HP shall be billed at the rate of Rs 1500 per HP per annum.
General consumers will have to shell out 15 paisa per unit more to use electricity from December 26 onwards. The Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) declared the revised rates on Thursday. An average of 1.98% of hike has been made in the electricity charges.
The MPERC has approved the demand of electricity companies to cover their loss of Rs 730 crore in next three months. According to new rates, an additional 15 paisa has to be paid for every unit the consumer uses. Moreover, Rs 2 have been hiked in the fixed charges.
The power companies had projected Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) of Rs 40,016 crore for the year 2020-21 and had demanded a hike of 5.73%. However, the commission allowed ARR of Rs 37,673 only with a revenue gap of Rs 730 crore at existing tariff.
No tariff hike has been made for domestic consumers having load up to 100 watt with monthly consumption up to 30 units. Moreover, tariff remains same for temporary connections for social and religious functions and charging stations for E-vehicles. Tariff for temporary connection for construction of own house has been reduced and period has been extended from maximum 1 year to 3 years.
According to an estimate, most of the consumers use around 150 units of electricity per month. Such consumers will have to shell out additional Rs 17 per month.
However, now consumers will not have to pay the meter rent. This could benefit consumer up to Rs 15 per month.
