Power consumers in Andhra Pradesh will have to pay up more from April 1, 2013 with the Andhra Pradesh Regulatory Commission passing a new tariff order for next financial year.

The tariffs have been hiked for all categories, low tension domestic, commercial and high tension industrial consumers.

The average hike is estimated to be about 15 per cent. On an average, for low tension consumers it is up by 58 paise per unit, for high tension consumers it has been hiked by Rs 1.12 per unit and for LT commercial, it has gone up by Rs 1.13 per unit.

The HT general industrial category tariff has been hiked from Rs 4.80 per unit to Rs 5.73 paise per unit.

In the domestic category, where consumption is less than 50 units per month, consumers pay at Rs 1.45 per unit, there is no change. With this, about 97.4 lakh consumers of 2.24 crore consumers will benefit.

For ferro alloys units, the tariff has been hiked by 93 paise per unit to Rs 5.41 per unit. The aggregate revenue by the discoms has been projected at Rs 40,639 crore. The total energy requirement is 89,845 million units.

The average cost of service for 2013-14 is Rs 5.25 per unit as against Rs 4.44 per unit last year, this implies an increase of 18 per cent. A 19 per cent fuel escalation has been factored over last year. The revenue at current tariffs for the year works out to Rs 28,996 crore.

For poultry farms, sugarcane crushing units, mushroom and rabbit farms, the tariff has gone up by 93 paise per unit. Even in the farm sector, the corporate farmers and IT assesses the tariff is up at Rs 3.50 per unit from Rs 2.50 per unit.

>rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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