The consumers in Maharashtra will have to pay more towards electricity bills as the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has approved a 5 to 10 percent hike in tariff from April 1. The MERC has allowed power distribution companies like BEST, TATA Power, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (MSEDCL) and Adani Electricity to increase the tariff.
Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (MSEDCL) is a distribution licensee catering to a large consumer base across Maharashtra, including some areas in Mumbai.
Tata Power will hike the prices by 10 percent in 2023-24 and 21 percent in 2024-25 for up to 100 units for residential users. On the other hand, Adani Electricity will hike the tariff by 5 percent for residential users in 2023-24 and by another 2 percent next year.
Here is a comparison of electricity prices after the tariff hike:
Tata Power
2023-24 Tariff- Rs 6.79 to Rs 11.29 per kWh
2024-25 Tariff- Rs 8.05 to Rs 13.13
Adani Electricity
2023-24 Tariff- Rs 7.17 to Rs 10.10 per kWh
2024-25 Tariff- Rs 7.22 to Rs 10.19
Consumers will need to pay an additional cost for switching connections from Adani Electricity to Tata Power.
The cost for switching connection/shifting meters is Rs 100 for single-phase connections and Rs 200 for three-phase connections as per a 2017 circular issued by Tata Power.
Thus, the decision to make a switch should be carefully calculated based on the needs of the customers and overall cost in the long run.
On the other hand, consumers of MSEDCL will witness a 6 percent hike in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 and those using BEST will witness a hike of 6.19 percent in 2023-24 and 6.7 percent in 2024-25.
Why were the tariffs hiked?
As per an earlier report, the power companies of Maharashtra including, MSEDCL, BEST, Tata Power and Adani Electricity had sought the tariff hike due to the coal price increase.
The companies also faced losses during the COVID pandemic and the shortfall in the availability of renewable power was the contributing reason for the overall cost of power purchases shooting up.
As per the Electricity Act, tariff hikes are made once in five years and the last tariff revision in Maharashtra was made three years ago.
However, there is a provision for a mid-term hike by the MERC. Thus, to adjust the revenue gap after the increased power purchase cost a mid-term tariff hike was requested by the power companies.
The MERC conducted multiple meetings with all the stakeholders and then issued an order allowing an electricity tariff hike in Maharashtra with new rates being applicable from April 1.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Apr 10, 2023 2:11 PM IST
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