Electricity outage boon for residents after tariff hike

Several residents may be able to save between 40 per cent and 50 per cent on electricity bills this month due to regular power cuts, which lasted for over seven to nine hours in some areas, according to a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry released on Monday.

The sleepless nights residents spent will at least bring down electricity bills, as each household would have saved 80 to 90 units due to the power shortage. The worst-hit areas were Greater Kailash, Chittaranjan Park and Nehru Place, where power supply was affected from 10 am to 5 pm, says the survey.

The study ‘Is Load shedding a remedy for increased power tariff in Delhi?’ says while power tariff has been increased by 24 per cent, per capita income has gone up by only 12.50 per cent in Delhi.

The survey, conducted across 5,000 households across Delhi in May and June, says a domestic consumer on an average used 300 units per month at Rs 3.70 per unit.

Areas included

Areas included in the survey are Dwarka, Safdarjung Enclave, Sarita Vihar, Malviya Nagar, Gole Market, Mayur Vihar, Greater Kailash, Rajouri Garden and Rohini.

The average power cut during peak summer is between two and four hours daily. “The situation was bad in almost all parts of Delhi, where outages happened on a rotational basis,” said Assocham secretary general D S Rawat.

The survey also took into account midnight power cuts in Vasant Vihar, Munirka, Vasant Kunj, Malviya Nagar and South Extension, among others. Residents say they will not protest against the power tariff hike if they get electricity round the clock.

Commercial power users will have to pay at least 19.50 per cent more after the government announced the hike. Additional fuel surcharge will also be added to the bill.