Power charges up by 11 paise per unit in MP

Get ready to pay more for electricity as the energy charges have gone up by 11 paise per unit from this month in MP. This hike will remain in force from October to December 2016 after which it will be revised for the next quarter.

Get ready to pay more for electricity as the energy charges have gone up by 11 paise per unit from this month in MP. This hike will remain in force from October to December 2016 after which it will be revised for the next quarter.

Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) has approved the increase in electricity tariff from 4 paise per unit to 14 paise per unit. In addition, consumers will have to pay one paise as electricity duty. This means the power tariff will increase by 11 paise per unit per month in the state and will cover all categories of consumers – domestic, industrial, agriculture, rural etc.

This is a 1.95% rise in electricity cost for domestic consumers and a 1.48% rise for high-tension supply line consumers which include industries. Till September, electricity cost from `3.65 per unit to `6.10 per unit to domestic consumers while industrial consumers paid `6.20 per unit.

“Tariff has been revised because of rise in fuel cost including coal, oil, petrol, diesel etc which are needed to run machines in power plants,” MP West Zone Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (west discom) director (commercial) Manoj Jhanwar said.

The state government expects to get additional revenue of `126 crore per month as a result of revised electricity rates. “Apart from this, the state government will get `8 crore as electricity duty. Of `126 crore, west discom (which supplies electricity in Indore and Ujjain division) will get `40 crore,” former MP State Electricity Board additional superintending engineer R C Somani said.

The state needs approximately 8,000 MW of electricity for everyday supply, of which it purchases 30% from the central pool including National Thermal Power Corporation among others. The state has projected to purchase electricity worth `21,250 crore in 2016-2017.