The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Commission outlines subsidy payment to TNEB

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Commission outlines subsidy payment to TNEB

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JUNE 14. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission today outlined a schedule of subsidy payment by the State Government to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board in compensation for reduction in power tariff for the domestic sector and restoration of free power supply to agricultural and hut service connections.

This follows the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's announcement late last month and submission of the TNEB's proposal to the Commission, detailing the computation of revenue shortfall that is caused by reduced collections from the consumers.

According to the Commission's order, the government should make an advance payment to the TNEB monthly for bearing the subsidy for the domestic consumers, who number about 110 lakhs. This will go on till Feburary next.

In respect of agricultural and hut services, the payment will have to be made twice — by the end of this month and September.

In the current financial year, the government will have to pay Rs. 928.25 crores totally to the TNEB, of which the doemstic category accounts for Rs. 715.3 crores, agricultural consumers Rs. 196.04 crores and hut services Rs. 16.91 crores.

About 15.25 lakh agricultural connections and 14 lakh huts will benefit from free power supply. While the reduced tariff comes into force for the domestic category from June 16, the farmers and hut dwellers are exempted from payment of power bills with effect from April 2004.

Agriculturists coming under self-financing scheme are excluded from the free power supply scheme.

In its order, the Commission stated that its tariff order of March 15 would continue to be in force. But, the TNERC permitted the Board to collect charges as laid down by the government.

The TNERC stated that the Board should indicate to each consumer how much subsidy component was being borne by the government.

As this would not be possible for the TNEB to implement this suggestion immediately, the Board should plan such a billing from the next financial year.

The Commission stated that the subsidy computation was limited to the current financial year.

If the Board wanted to extend the changed tariff structure beyond March 2005, it should come to the Commission with estimated consumption for 2005-06, actual consumption for 2003-04 and 2004-05, and susbsidy requirement for 2005-06, the order added.

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