After hiking the power charges three times, there is finally a news of great relief for all the city beautiful residents. The UT Electricity Department has decided to reduce the rates of electricity from 10 paise to 23 paise per unit. The prices have been reduced after calculating the fuel power purchase cost adjustment (FPPCA) charges for the last three months (from July 2017 to September 2017). This news is sure to bring a sigh of relief to the residents of UT who were earlier upset with the rising power charges.
The Benefit passed on to consumers by Electricity Department
According to MP Singh, Superintending Engineer, The Electricity Department has passed on the benefit of purchasing electricity at a lower rate to the consumers. The rate of the rebate would reflect up in the upcoming bills, to be issued from November this year to January next year. The Electricity Department has been authorized by The Joint Regulatory Electricity Commission (JERC) to compute the fuel and power procurement cost variations on a quarterly basis and charge it from consumers. The rates to the consumers are fixed considering the cost at which the electricity is being purchased.
Previous Rise in prices due to hike in FPPCA Charges
Prior to this, there was an increase in the bills by 20 to 30 percent for electricity consumed during April-June quarter due to rise in FPPCA charges. Since the JERC had rejected the proposal for increasing the power charges in UT, The Electricity Department had to make up for the loss by raising the FPPCA charges in case it buys electricity at increased cost.
The consumers will have to pay more if the cost goes up and in case if the cost to electricity department decreases the benefit will also be passed on to consumers.
Relief to Different Sectors
The Electricity Department has decided to give relief to all types of consumers. All the sectors- Domestic sector, Commercial Sector as well as the Industrial sector have been benefited by this decision. The consumers will now get a benefit ranging from 5 paise to 23 paise per unit over and above the existing rates charged from the consumers. The Industrial sector has been in maximum benefit with the highest relief of 23 paise to its ground.