Tata Power users in city to pay up to 59% more as companies hike tariff

Mumbai: Electricity consumers, who usually get inflated bills during summer, will now have to pay more due to a significant hike in power tariff from Monday, April 1. Tata Power consumers will face a hike of around 44 to 59% and consumers of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) will face a tariff hike of 5.7 %.
MSEDCL residential consumers using up to 100 units per month will have to pay 30 paise more per unit. For 101 to 300 units hike would be 65 paise per unit, for 301 to 500 units, the hike will be 94 paise per unit and for usage above the 500 units per month electricity, consumers will have to pay ₹1.07 per unit.
Tata Power consumers in suburban Mumbai will face the highest tariff shock. Residential consumers using up to 100 units per month will have to pay ₹1.99 extra per unit while for 101 to 300 units, the hike would be ₹2.69 per unit. For 301 to 500 units, the hike would be ₹5.33 per unit. Consumers using more than 500 units of electricity per month will pay ₹5.67 per unit extra from April 1 than the previous year. This hike will be in the range of a whopping 44% to 59 %. Tata Power has a consumer base of around 7.5 lakh.
No respite for BEST residential electricity consumers as using up to 100 units per month will cost them 15 paise per unit extra now. For usage of 101 to 300 units, the hike is 39 paise per unit, for usage of 301 to 500 units hike will be 90 paise per unit. For usage of more than 500 units per month, the tariff hike will be ₹1.10 per unit. BEST supplies power to around 10.50 lakh consumers, including residential, commercial, and industrial consumers.
Around 31 lakh electricity consumers of Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd will face the lowest electricity tariff hike in comparison to consumers of other power utilities. Adani residential consumers using up to 100 units per month will have to pay only 9 paise per unit extra. For the use of electricity 101 to 300 units per month hike will be 24 paise per unit. For 301 to 500 units, the hike will be only 4 paise per unit and consumers using above 500 units of electricity will pay one paise less than the earlier tariff.
While commenting on the power tariff hike power sector expert Ashok Pendse referred to the hike by Tata Power as a “mega power tariff shock to its consumers.” A few years back the rate of commercial and industrial power of Tata Power company was high and they used to cross-subsidise the residential consumers. Later the commercial and industrial power tariff of Tata Power was reduced. So the cross subsidy of residential consumers decreased. As a result, Tata Power residential consumers will face mega power tariff shock this year.” said Pendse.
Pratap Hogade president of Maharashtra State Power Consumers Federation said that MSEDCL power consumers will face an average 5.7 % tariff hike and if we consider Fuel Adjustment Charge (FAC) it’s around 9.8 %. He also warned that due to high demand this summer consumers will have to suffer again in the form of FAC again.
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who is also the power minister said, “The tariff has been approved by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), but the structure has been revised in such a way that residential consumers do not face any burden.”