New power tariff order may be out next month

Power consumers may soon have to get ready to pay revised tariffs. The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) will resume hearing of the tariff revision pleas on April 21. 

The Commission had deferred the hearing in February, in view of the elections.Speaking to Deccan Herald, M R Sreenivasa Murthy, chairman, KERC, said that they will begin with the hearing of the pleas by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) and the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) on April 21. “We will start with Bescom, followed by KPTCL in the afternoon,” Murthy added.

Hearing schedule

The Commission, which now has new members, will conduct hearing of the plea by the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company (Cesc) in Mysore on April 22 and that of the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) in Mangalore on April 23. The hearing of the pleas by the Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) and the Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (Gescom) is scheduled for April 29 and April 30, respectively.

The Commission has received 2,722 objections to tariff revision this year. “We just need a few days’ time after the hearings to pass orders. The new power tariff order will be out by the second week of May,” said Murthy.

The escoms had filed their tariff revision application for 2014-15 in December 2013, seeking an increase in tariff of 66 paise per unit of power. The Commission, for the first time, had allowed the extension of deadline to file the tariff revision applications to December 13.

The escoms, in their applications, have projected an energy supply of 62,959 million units (mu) during this year (2014-15) against 61,075 mu for 2013-14. The escoms hope to generate a revenue of Rs 27,772 crore against Rs 24,469 crore for the current year.