| The new electricity tariff proposed by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), to be introduced from January 2011, will hike prices from 8% to 10% for more than a million consumers.
Those who consume 91-120 units will have to pay an enhanced rate of Rs 23.50 per unit, those using from 121-150 units will need to pay Rs 28.60 per unit, while those consuming from 151-180 units will be charged Rs 32.50 per unit.
Earlier, all three categories of users numbering around 800,000 consumers, paid Rs 16 per unit, which was the flat rate for users from 91-180 units of electricity.
The other increase will be for those consuming 181-240 units, which will be increased to Rs 39, while those using from 241-600 units will have to pay Rs 41.75. Earlier these two categories which number around 220,000, paid Rs 25 per unit.
Those using in excess of 600 units of electricity, will be charged an enhanced rate of Rs 45.50 per unit, up from Rs 30 they pay at present. This category numbers around 7000 consumers.
However, the recommendation by the PUC to increase the tariff for those using from 61-90 units of electricity from the present rate of Rs 7.50 per unit to Rs.8.50, has been shot down by the Government.
More than three million domestic users of electricity, or around 78% of all consumers of electricity in the country, use less than 90 units, according to the Ministry of Power & Energy.
The total number of users of electricity in the country is 4,557,000 (domestic), 482,000 (Offices), 58,000 (Government institutions), 48,000 (Industrial), 26,335(Places of worship) and 560 (Hotels). |
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