Civic polls round the corner, Odisha urges power regulator not to raise tariff

The state energy department has requested the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) not to increase retail tariff for 2022-23.

Published on: Feb 20, 2022, 14:22:58 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: With urban body polls likely to be held in April, the state energy department on Saturday requested the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) not to hike the electricity tariff for retail consumers in 2022-23.

The Odisha Janshakti Manch, a citizen’s body, has alleged that ordinary electricity consumers of Odisha are paying more tariff than the consumers in many other states. (Representational Image/HT Archive)

“During the hearing of the ARR (aggregate revenue requirement) of GridcoOdisha by OERC today, Energy Department requested the Commission not to increase retail tariff for 2022-23. It urged the Commission to take into account the surplus revenue of DISCOMs during the current year,”the Energy department said in a Twitter post on Saturday.

“OERC was requested to direct the DISCOMs (distribution companies) to bring down the aggregate technical and commercial losses faster so that consumers get the benefit of low tariff,” it added. Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, the commission has raised the power tariff for domestic consumers twice, first in October 2020 and again in April 2021, by 50 paise per unit.

At present, domestic consumers pay ₹3 per unit of electricity for the first 50 units and ₹4.80 for consumption above 50 units and up to 200 units. For consumption above 200 and below 400 units, the consumers pay ₹5.80 per unit while consumption above 400 units is being billed at ₹6.20 per unit.

Earlier, the four power distribution companies - TPCODL, TPNODL, TPSODL, TPWODL - that supply power to over 96 lakh consumers urged the OERC to raise the tariff projecting a revenue gap of ₹1192.37 crore for the year 2022-23.

The OERC was also requested not to pass any orders that affect the commercial viability of GRIDCO as the State’s long term energy security and development is dependent on the operational viability of the State-owned Corporation.

Early this month, Odisha Janshakti Manch, a citizen’s body alleged that ordinary electricity consumers of Odisha are paying more tariff than the consumers in many other states.

The body alleged that even though Odisha is a power surplus state, the people of Odisha pay ₹945 for consuming less than 200 units per month, while the consumers in Andhra Pradesh pay ₹620 for the same. The body said people in Punjab pay ₹672 for consuming less than 200 units while those in Chhattisgarh pay ₹861. In Delhi, people consuming less than 200 units do not have to pay any charges. In Tamil Nadu, 100 units of free electricity is provided bi-monthly, the OJM said.

The citizen’s body said tariff in Odisha is high as the rates were determined by OERC based on estimation and projection of expenses provided by the distribution and transmission companies without doing any independent audit of the exact expenses and losses made by the DISCOMs. In Delhi the rates were drastically reduced after making an independent audit; hence an independent audit must take place immediately before any rate revision, the OJM said.

Incidentally, performance review of the TPCODL from April 2020 to March 2021 showed that the new management was able to bring down the overall aggregate technical and commercial losses from 30.44 % during the same period in 2019-20 to only 29.54 % against the OERC benchmark of 23.77 %.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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