By IANS,
Bangalore: Electricity charges went up between five and 60 paise a unit in Karnataka from Tuesday with the average hike for Bangalore residents at around 31 paise per unit.
This was announced by Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman M. R. Sreenivasa Murthy.
In villages, the increase is between 10 and 30 paise per unit. The new tariff will come into effect immediately.
The rates for commercial lighting/heating installations went up between 25 and 45 paise a unit in urban areas and 30-35 paise a unit in rural areas.
For industries, the increase is from 30 to 40 paise per unit.
The electricity supply companies (Escoms) had sought an increase of minimum 70 paise per unit as they buy power from outside the state also to meet the demand.
Karnataka is a power deficit state. Frequent power cuts, lasting up to four hours during peak summer months of April and May, have become part of daily life of the people.