The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) has submitted a petition to the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking approval of aggregate revenue requirement for 2023-24 with average hike of Re 1 per unit on projected sale of 9,738 MUs, as per the information provided by APDCL.
According to the tariff petition submitted by the discom, the cumulative revenue requirement to be recovered in tariff for 2023-24 works out to be Rs 107.79 billion. However, being sensitive to its valued consumers, APDCL has reduced the claim to Rs 92.74 billion, keeping the amount pertaining to annual performance review for 2022-23 with associated carrying cost for next year.
The discom has sought a hike in fixed charges in the range of Rs 15 to Rs 75 per month per connection/kW/kVA/HP and variable charge in the range of 70 paisa to Rs 2.70 per unit across various consumer categories.
The discom has proposed an increase of Rs 15 per connection on fixed charge and 95 paisa per unit on energy charge for the Jeevan Dhara category; Rs 15 per connection in fixed charges for the crematoriums and vehicle-charging stations and Rs 35 per unit in fixed charges for the railway traction. It has proposed an increase of 70 paisa in variable charges for crematoriums and vehicle-charging stations, and Rs 1.20 for railway traction. This hike in variable tariff excludes fuel and power purchase price adjustment already being implemented.
As mentioned by APDCL, the hike is primarily driven by massive hike in price of natural gas and more than 24 per cent of power of APDCL is sourced from gas based power stations impacted by such hike.