No proposal from discoms for domestic power tariff hike: APERC chairman
VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy said on Thursday that no discom has sent proposals to hike the domestic power tariff.
The chairman launched a three-day public hearing on aggregate revenue requirements and tariff filing for fiscal 2023-24 via video conference.
He said the commission would take decisions keeping in mind the financial position of the discoms and by protecting the interests of the consumers and overall health of the power distribution companies in the state.
He said the discoms have been following the instruction of the commission by maintaining seniority in the most-transparent way by uploading the allocation of free agriculture connections to the farmers.
Regarding power saving appliances, the chairman said the commission has approved a pilot project on reduced prices on power saving appliances like lights, air conditioners and super-efficient fans by paying advance money or on-bill financing method. The industrial policy has been revised to levy minimum charges on the industries closed for a long period.
As for the calculation of additional security deposit, the discoms have been asked to exempt the duty on consumption charges.
The commission also sanctioned the short term power purchases by the discoms in the interest of supplying uninterrupted power to consumers. The purchases would be monitored on a daily basis.
“The commission has been observing appointments of the Vidyut ombudsman and the Consumer Redressal Grievances Forum and the complaints submitted by the consumers on a regular basis,” he said.
The CMDs of APEPDCL, APCPDCL and APSPDCL read out the tariff proposals and other issues.
