Bescom tariffs go up, second time this year

Bescom consumers will have to shell out an additional 14 paise per unit of electricity as the KERC has revised power tariffs through a special order.

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission has directed all escoms to collect additional fuel adjustment charges (FAC). The Bangalore Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (Bescom) will charge its consumers 14 paise per unit irrespective of the sector and units consumed.

With this, an average household consuming more than 100 units will see the bill go up by at least Rs 14 from October, a Bescom official said. The tariff will be applicable till December 31. This is the second tariff revision this year. In May, the KERC had hiked the tariff by 25-38 paise per unit.

An average household consuming around 130 units had to cough up 21 paise more per unit. This had increased the monthly bill by Rs 21.

“The increase in tariff is for October to December, after which the rates may or may not be revised, depending upon the fuel (coal) cost escalation. The escalation rates are different for different escoms.

Earlier, from April to September, the FAC was not levied. From June to March, a 15-paise FAC was collected from consumers,” explained a Bescom official.

The official explained that in 2017, from April to June, an FAC of 6 paise was charged. From July 2017 to March 31, 2018, it was 15 paise.

“The FAC is charged based on market coal cost. This time, the coal supply is scarce and monsoon fury has added to transportation problems. There is a financial burden of Rs 94 crore from the previous quarter. It has been decided to pass this burden on to the consumers. The rates of hydel and wind power have also increased, but that cannot be passed on to consumers because of electricity rules. We also cannot pass on the power purchase hike charges to consumer,” the official said.

The FAC amount will be clearly listed in the bills for consumers to understand. This is also an indication that consumers should use electricity wisely as now it is becoming costly, the official said.