No hike in power tariff, says JERC

Ramkrishan Upadhyay  
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh,  May  21

The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has directed the UT Electricity Department to start sending electricity bills to consumers on a monthly basis.

At present, the department is issuing bills bimonthly, which is causing inconvenience to consumers. Disposing of the multi-year tariff    petition, the JERC said on account of the projected standalone surplus at the existing tariff (without surcharge) during 2019-20, no tariff hike had been made in the retail tariff for the existing categories.

The commission has also discontinued the regulatory surcharge of 5 per cent imposed in the tariff order  for the financial year 2018-19 for the recovery of the past revenue gap as the objective has been achieved and the department is revenue surplus at the end of 2018-19.

 A new sub-category in the domestic supply category, HT domestic, has been created owing to a difference in voltage. The domestic supply category shall now include two sub-categories — LT domestic and HT domestic. The HT domestic category shall include domestic consumers connected to 11 kV and above voltage.

 The commission  has introduced a new category, electric vehicle charging stations, for consumers setting up infrastructure for charging of electric vehicles/electric rickshaws and has fixed the tariff as per the guidelines of the Union Power Ministry.

 The commission has also directed the department to take action against defaulters by disconnecting their supply as per Section 56 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

Pre-paid meters

• The department has also been directed to expedite the process of procurement and installation of  pre-paid meters.
• Installing pre-paid meters will lead to advance payment being received by the Electricity Department and reduction in bad debts.