GUWAHATI, July 3 ? The Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) has proposed hike in the power tariff for all categories of power consumers. The tariff proposed by the Board is Rs 4.96 per KWH against the existing Rs 4.12 per KWH, for the 2003-04 fiscal. It has also proposed an average tariff of Rs 5.38 per KWH for the 2004-05 fiscal. Meanwhile, it has also sought to ?update? the load security in accordance with the 2001 decision.
According to sources in the ASEB, the latest revision of power tariff by the Board was effected in April last year. It was based on the calculations made as per the financial position of the Board in 2001-2002. Power tariff is to be adjusted annually, the sources said. On the issue of updating the load security rates, Board sources said that the implementation of the 2001 decision was delayed. The load security rates are to be updated in the cases of the domestic and low-tension commercial consumers, the sources said.
The Board has already submitted its proposal on the annual revenue requirement for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 fiscals and the petition for rationalization of tariff for the same period with the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC). The Commission has fixed July 5 as the date for hearing on the ASEB petition. The hearing will be held at the Assam Administrative Staff College from 11 am that day.
In the above document submitted by the ASEB to the AERC, it was stated in Section-3 that the tariff approved by the AERC to the Board for the year 2002-03 had an average tariff of Rs 4.12 per KWH against a true cost of supply of Rs 5.37 per KWH. This has made the Board face a deficit of Rs 1.25 for each unit of energy sold. The annual revenue requirement approved for the year at Rs 893.04 crore did not have the consideration of the depreciation and minimum 3 per cent statutory return besides consideration of only 50 per cent of the interest due on the loan amount (para 3.1).
Moreover, the tariff approved for 2002-03 gave rise to 13.46 per cent over the existing tariff and there was a ?very marginal increase? in fixed charge from 16.06 per cent to 16.50 per cent against 51 per cent of the fixed costs in the true cost of supply, it said. To justify its new proposal for upward revision of tariff the Board said that the electricity tariff of SEBs are determined on the basis of average cost of supply as per provisions of Electricity Supply (ES) Act and Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) Act of 1998. Fixation of electricity tariff for a category/class of consumers is done with due consideration to the State Government?s subvention extended for the purpose. However, the tariff approval for 2002-03 did not have any Government subvention, it said (para 3.3).
Referring to the popular apprehension the electricity tariff is the highest in the State, the document said that it was not based on facts. Reasoning it said that the tariff awarded by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission on Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) of Delhi Bidyut Board for 2001-02 had approved the ARR at Rs 5239 crore. It was against the energy sale of 10340 MUs. It thus approved an average cost of Rs 5.06 for supply of per KWH of power, whereas, the average cost of supply of ASEB during the corresponding period was only Rs 3.48 per KWH (para 3.4).
In its prayer, the Board has said that it had formulated the ARR for the year 2003-04 on the basis of estimated expenditure for the same year. The Board explained the financial implication of the ARR on the energy tariff for the year as ? Rs 1048.75 crore ARR for 2003-04, Rs 893.04 crore is the ARR for 2002-03 for 2002-03 (as approved by the Commission), Rs 155.71crore is the gap to be recovered by way of increase in tariff and Rs 4.96 as an average tariff per KWH to cover the ARR (para 9.1)
It has also prayed for, among others, creation of single point rural domestic supply category as per Clause 13 of the Electricity Act, 2003; compensation of financial loss towards shortfall in billing efficiency and collection of revenue and permission for realization of fixed charge to the extent of 20 per cent of the ARR in the tariff for 2003-04.
The Board formulated the ARR for 2004-05 on the basis of the estimated expenditure of Rs 1178 crore. It said that the recovery possible for it under the tariff approved by the Commission as per its order on March 26, 2003, was only Rs 867.59 crore. Thus it would be left to recover a gap of Rs 311.22 crore by way of tariff revision. Hence, the Board proposed an average tariff of RS 5.38 per KWH for the fiscal.