By IANS,
Chandigarh : Power-deficient Punjab has hiked electricity tariff, with the new rates becoming applicable from April next year.
The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission here Tuesday announced the revised tariff for different categories of consumers.
“The tariff has been increased in the range of 9 to 19 percent. The first 100 units of electricity for domestic consumers will increase 42 paise per unit. Earlier, one unit cost 240 paise, now it has been raised to 282 paise,” said commission chairman Jai Singh Gill.
The rate per unit between 100 to 300 units have been raised to 37 paise to Rs.4.48, and by 39 paise to Rs.4.52 for above 300 units.
The move to increase electricity tariff is likely to pinch consumers across Punjab even more as they have to suffer erratic power cuts, often lasting 14 hours a day.
“They can keep on increasing rates. When there is not enough power that they can supply, what is the use of all this. The consumers are the only sufferers,” said property dealer Jagbir Singh of Zirakpur town near Chandigarh.
The Punjab government has been accused of over-drawing power from its quota from other states and grids in the run-up to assembly by-election last month. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal won by over 80,000 votes in the Jalalabad assembly by-election.
In a state where the government subsidizes power to farmers, the maximum increase in tariff has been seen in agriculture sector.
Electricity tariff in this sector has increased by up to 18.75 percent. As a result, the state government will have to subsidize power to farmers at the rate of Rs.2.85 per unit instead of Rs.2.40 earlier.
Electricity tariff in small and medium scale industry has increased by 9.4 and 9.6 percent, respectively, while that for large industries has been hiked 9.6 percent from Rs.3.95 per unit to Rs.4.33.