Power regulator’s new method may reduce bills

Expect to be charged less for electricity in the coming years.

Expect to be charged less for electricity in the coming years.

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Reason: From April 2011, the state power regulator will determine the tariff for a period of five years, and not every year.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission will follow a principal of multi-year tariff.

This means tariffs will be allowed to change only due to change in the values of selected parameters in a pre-determined manner.

On Monday, the state power regulator declared the multi-year tariff regulations that would be binding on all the distribution, generation, transmission, wires and supply business companies.

The regulator also said that the multi-year tariff would help reduce tariff in the long run.

One of the major problems faced by the utility companies, said the regulator, were lack of long-term planning discipline.

“The companies will submit a five-year business plan which will require them to project the demand-supply scenario, power procurement plan and capital investments required to achieve the desired operational efficiency,” said the statement issued by the regulator.