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Sunday, Dec 19, 2004

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Power to cost more in Rajasthan

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, DEC. 18. Electricity rates are to go up in Rajasthan from this coming January for almost all categories of consumers except the big industries. The increased rates, which range from 25 paise to 75 paise per unit, will not however affect the agriculture and domestic customers for the next three months as the State Government, with the panchayat elections round the corner, promising to pick up the extra bill.

The new tariff order, cleared by the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission on Friday after completion of hearing of petitions from the distribution companies(Discoms) based at Jaipur, Ajmer and Jodhpur and after going through the representations from the public and the people's representatives, envisages an additional annual income of Rs.522 crores.

The increase would amount to an income of Rs.130.54 crores for three companies in the current financial year. The net deficit of the three companies is estimated at Rs.248 crores.

The Regulatory Commission which took a grim view of the Discoms' performance on the T&D(transmission and distribution) losses-- which is still at 40 per cent--has asked them to attain targets set by it to bring down the losses. The Commission also has withheld Rs.5 crores each from the annual allocations of the companies as a token expression of its "displeasure'' for not taking "adequate'' steps to reduce the T&D losses.

With the new regime, the power rates have gone up in the case of domestic consumers from Rs.1.70 per unit to Rs.1.95 per unit (up to 50 units) and from Rs.2.75 per unit to Rs.3.50 per unit thereafter. In the case of domestic connections with fixed rates up to 50 units, the new tariff is Rs.80 a month against the previous Rs.50. In the case of connections with average consumption more than 50 units the new rate is Rs.105 in place of the existing Rs.75 per month.

The minimum billing category in domestic consumer connections has been abolished while a new category has been created for electricity consumed in residential colonies of Railways, the police and others with a fixed charge of Rs.100 a month per kva of billing demand and energy charge of Rs.3 per unit.

For agricultural connections, in metered general category, the tariff has been raised to Rs.1.10 per unit from the current 90 paise. In the unmetered category the tariff has been raised to Rs.140 per horse power per month against the existing Rs.85. In the special fodder scheme the new rate is going to be Rs.200 per hp month and in others, Rs.230 per hp per month. The minimum billing in general farm houses also is to go up.

For small industries energy charges have been raised to Rs.3.50 per unit while minimum billing charges have been reduced to Rs.135 per hp per month from Rs.140 at present. The fixed charges too have been revised from Rs.30 per hp per month to Rs.35.

The Regulatory Commission has granted incentives to large industrial consumers in order to increase consumption by them. The concessions include a rebate of 5 per cent on energy charges for railway electrification and domestic rates for dharmashalas and "piaos''(water huts).

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