JOIN USPower tariff tagged to time of consumption
The industrial and commercial consumers of electricity will have to pay Re one more for the power consumed between 6 pm and 10 pm while they will be entitled to a rebate of Rs 1.25 per unit of electricity consumed between 10 pm and 6 am, according to the Time of the Day (ToD) tariff prescribed by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The ToD tariff is aimed at discouraging consumption of electricity during the peak hours and promoting consumption during off peak hours. The system enables industrial establishments to suitably schedule their power consumption during peak hours by rescheduling their processes. The arrangement will greatly help the energy supply companies (escoms) to manage their supply by minimising the need for load shedding during peak hours.
The KERC has decided to make the ToD tariff compulsory for HT 2 (a) (industrial areas within the limits of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and other parts of the State) and HT 2 (b) (commercial areas in the Palike limits and other parts of the State) consumers, with a contract demand of 500 KVA and above, from September 1, 2012.
M R Sreenivasamurthy, Chairperson, KERC, told reporters that the ToD tariff introduced in the State on an optional basis in 2009-10 had gained acceptability from several industrial units.
The Commission has also revised the cross subsidy surcharge payable by high tension industrial consumers who opt to buy power from generating companies other than the escoms. Consumers of 66 KV and above will have to pay 43 paise per unit and those of 33 KV will have to pay 11 paise a unit.
Domestic consumers
Domestic consumers in urban areas using up to 30 units a month will have to shell out 10 paise over the existing rate of Rs 2.20 a unit. For those consuming between 30 and 100 units, the tariff is Rs 3.50 a unit (earlier it was Rs 3.40 a unit). The new tariff for consumption of power between 100 and 200 units is Rs 4.60 per unit (in October 2011 it was increased from Rs 4.20 to Rs 4.50). For the power consumers using over 200 units, the rate is Rs 5.60 per unit (it was increased from Rs five to Rs 5.50 earlier). The electricity tariff for household consumption in rural areas has been increased by 10 paise for all the five slabs.
The tariff for irrigation pumpsets, private horticulture nurseries, coffee and tea plantations has been increased by 10 paise from Rs 1.40 to Rs 1.50 per unit.
LT consumers
The tariff for low tension industrial consumers has been increased by 20 paise a unit in Bangalore. The tariff varies between Rs 4.20 and Rs 5.20 a unit in the City, while it ranges between Rs 4 and Rs 5 a u nit in other areas.
The low tension commercial tariff in urban areas has been increased from Rs 6 to Rs 6.20 for the first 50 units and from Rs 7 to Rs 7.20 a unit for consumption beyond 50 units.
The green tariff introduced to promote purchase of energy from renewable sources and to reduce carbon footprint has been continued. Consumers opting for green tariff have to pay Re one per unit over and above the normal tariff. Solar rebate is continued at Rs 50 per month to encourage use of solar water heaters by domestic consumers.
With a view to encourage solar power generation and its use through the grid, it has been decided to waive wheeling charges for wheeling of solar power within the State grid.