Electricity will get costlier by a whopping 43 paise per unit as the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has allowed electricity supply companies (Escoms) to recover additional expenses.
This year, the series of hikes began in April when the annual tariff was increased by 35 paise per unit. The second hike came in June in the form of fuel adjustment charges. KERC allowed Escoms to collect fuel adjustment costs per each unit starting from 31 paise (Bescom) to 27 paise (Hescom), 26 paise (Gescom), 21 (Mescom ) and 19 paise (Cesc) from July 1 to December 31.
The third order from KERC dated September 19 hikes the electricity charges with effect from October 1 to March 31, 2023. According to the revised rates per unit, Bescom consumers will pay an additional 43 paise, followed by Hescom (35), Gescom (35), CESC (34) and Mescom (24).
This means, from October to December 31, consumers will pay the hikes effected through the June order as well as the September order for the next three months. From December to March, only hikes effected in the third order will remain in place, an official explained.
For instance, in BBMP limits, a household that paid Rs 545 as monthly bill for consuming 50 units for April saw the bill go up by Rs 15.50 for July, August and September. Now, the bill will go up by another Rs 36 for October, November an December before coming back to relatively low hike of Rs 20.50 for January, February and March.
An average household consumes 50 units to 100 units, depending on the appliances and use.
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