“First vegetables, then water and now power. The increase in rates all round is hitting consumers hard. This is bad timing as well considering the drought in the state. The power tariff should not have been increased at this point,” says an indignant B.N. Poornima, a housewife from Mathikere. If Bengalureans are upset with the power tariff hike announced yet again by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) , they have reason to be. In the last six months alone, a unit of power has become costlier by 37 paise for domestic consumers in the city. While in October 2011, an average hike of 27 paise per unit in tariff was thrust upon them, on Monday they were saddled with another 10 paise per unit increase.
Even worse, in the revised scheme of things all those who consume more than 200 units of power per month will pay the same tariff as the bigger consumers, unlike in the past when those who consumed upto 300 units a month paid less. Energy officials, who claim the hike in tariff is unavoidable for a revenue starved department, say in the KERC’s defence that it did not give in fully to the escoms that wanted a uniform 73 paise hike per unit.
“As against this the KERC approved only a 13 paise hike per unit on an average. Even the last time the escoms which had sought an 88 paise per unit hike, had to be satisfied with an average hike of 28 paise,” they contend. A senior Bescom official says the hike of 73 paise per unit was suggested to meet its revenue deficit of Rs 1597.70 crores. “With the increasing demand for power, the cost of generation too is rising. Also buying power from other states and private parties is a costly affair, and a tariff hike can be a big help,” he adds .