Ranchi, Mar 25 (PTI) The Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday announced a 6.12 per cent rise in power tariff, which will be effective from the next month.
The tariff hike, however, will not apply to those domestic consumers who have been availing the benefit of free electricity up to 200 units per month, an official said.
Under the new rates, rural domestic consumers with more than 200 units of consumption will have to pay Rs 7.20 per unit, up from Rs 6.70, while those in urban areas will be charged Rs 7.40 per unit, up from Rs 6.85.
The revised tariff will come into effect from April 1, JSERC chairman Justice (Retd) Navneet Kumar said.
The tariff in rural areas has been increased by 50 paise and 55 paise in urban localities, he said.
“Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) had proposed a 59 per cent tariff hike. After careful consideration, the commission approved a 6.12 per cent increase,” he said.
For the commercial category, the tariff was increased by 50 paise for rural and 60 paise for urban consumers.
There has been no increase in the power tariff for agriculture consumers, he said.
The commission also approved the JBVNL’s tariff for public electric vehicle charging stations, which includes Rs 7 per unit for solar hours (9 am to 4 pm) and Rs 8.70 per unit for non-solar hours (remaining period).
A two per cent rebate has been proposed for the bills paid within five days of the generation of invoices, and a three per cent rebate on energy charges for consumers switching to prepaid smart meters.
The commission kept tariffs unchanged for rooftop solar PV projects at Rs 4.16 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for gross metering and Rs 3.80/kWh for net metering, the official said.
The JSERC approved a distribution loss of 13 per cent, as against the distribution losses of 28.19 per cent, 27.23 per cent, and 25.60 per cent proposed by JBVNL for the financial year 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27, respectively.
Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly Babulal Marandi criticised the power tariff hike, alleging that it would adversely impact many consumers.
“The government claims to provide free electricity up to 200 units, and on the other hand, it increases the tariff for consumers who do not come under the bracket to manage the revenue shortfall,” he said. PTI SAN BDC
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