Reliance says power tariff hike may come down after slab revision

Reliance Energy announced on Friday that it would revise the power tariff hike based on the telescopic slabs. The final rate applicable to the consumers will be reduced to 28% from 45%, a statement issued by the company said.

Reliance Energy announced on Friday that it would revise the power tariff hike based on the telescopic slabs. The final rate applicable to the consumers will be reduced to 28% from 45%, a statement issued by the company said.

The statement stated that the rise for consumers with monthly usage of up to 100 units will be 9%, and 13% for ones using up to 200 units. For consumers with usage of 300 and 400 units, the rise will be 14 and 23% respectively. It will be 28% for those who consume up to 500 units.

Earlier in the day, former Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam had written to the chief minister to ensure that the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) rejected the proposal submitted for the up to 45% hike in the power tariff. “The hike is totally unjustified and beyond the affordability of the common consumers of the city. As an MP, I had protested against the hike on several occasions. The low-end consumers of the energy company would not be in position of paying the hiked rates,” he said in the letter.

Reliance, however, claimed that the hike reflected in its petition to the MERC earlier was higher because of the slab rate base applied.

The company, a power distribution arm of the Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, supplies electricity to 20 lakh domestic consumers in the suburbs of Mumbai and Thane.