Thursday, June 17, 2010

Residing in Gurgaon, Be Ready to Pay More for Power

Even as they cry foul over erratic power supply, the residents of Gurgaon and the rest of the state will see a substantial hike in their electricity bill from the next billing cycle.

The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has given into the long-standing demand of the two government-owned discoms Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) to increase the tariff. The hike has been approved citing increase in fuel cost, said officials.

Residents pay a tariff of 2.63 paisa per unit for the first 40 units consumed but now they will have to shell out 22 paisa more on the same. While the increased tariff of 22 paisa is applicable for the first 300 units, the consumer would have to pay 27 paisa per unit after that. Even without the latest hike, Haryana has one of the highest power tariffs in the country.

‘‘Every six months we ask the regulator for revenue requirement and tell how much money we have spent to purchase the required power. In the past the cost of fuel increased and we have decided to pass it on to the consumer. The period for which the fuel surcharge would be charged from the consumer is from January 2008 to June 2010, and since we don’t want to collect it at one go, we have spread it over a period of four years, starting next month,’’ said Sudhir Rajpal, managing director, DHBVN.

The residents were not happy with the move and said they faced erratic power supply even after paying a very high electricity tariff. ‘‘This hike is uncalled for. The entire city is being run on generator in the absence of consistent power supply. The situation has been the same for the past 20 years. They haven’t bothered to replace the transformers and improve the quality of power supplied. How can HERC increase the tariff without having a public hearing? We will lodge a compliant,’’ said R S Rathee, president Gurgaon Citizens Council.

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