Ritika
- Rate may increase from 75 paise to Rs 1.30
- Preparation to recover 33,000 crore loss from customers
Nagpur. Mahavitaran is preparing to increase the rate of electricity again to make up for the losses incurred during the Corona period due to theft of electricity, purchase of expensive electricity. It has been learned that he has filed a petition to this effect in the Regulatory Commission (Merck). If Merck gives a decision in favor of Mahavitaran, then the customers will get the shock of increase in electricity rate from 75 paise to Rs 1.30 per unit. Although by March 2023, Merck will hold hearing in all the divisions of the state and give its decision, but till now it has been in the experience that Merck has been giving decision in favor of Mahavitaran. Even before this, a fuel adjustment fee of Rs 1.30 per unit is being charged from the customers from June 2022 and this may be repeated in the coming March. Pratap Hogade, president of the Maharashtra Electricity Consumers Association, has appealed to all electricity consumers to file objections against the rate hike in maximum numbers in the hearing of Merc.
Electricity theft recovery from customers
It is well known that Mahavitaran recovers the losses due to power theft and corruption from its honest customers. Mahavitaran puts the distribution loss at 14 per cent but Hogade claims it is more than 30 per cent. This theft is hidden by telling 30 percent usage instead of 15 percent electricity usage in agricultural pumps, which has also come to the fore from many studies and committee reports. Every year Rs 13,000 crore is lost due to power theft and corruption. This burden of Rs 1.10 on honest customers. Charges per unit. The second reason for increasing the power rate is the higher rate given to Adani Power Company as per the agreement. A court order has been received to recover Rs 22,374 crore from the customers for the period from 2012 to 2018-19. Many companies in the state are ready to provide electricity at the rate of Rs 4 per unit, but Mahavitaran is giving Rs 5.76 per unit rate for Adani. For this reason, 15,000 crores have been given so far by collecting fuel adjustment fee from the customers. It is certain to recover the remaining amount from the customers by April 2023. Mahavitaran has raised this issue in its tariff petition. There is a burden of 1,300 crores every month.
20,000 crore loss in 2 years
Mahavitaran is being told a total loss of 20,000 crores in the two years of the Corona period and more is going to come in the petition. The power purchase rate for the current year in the state has been fixed by the Commission at Rs 4.38 per unit, but in fact in August 2022, electricity was purchased at an average rate of Rs 5.89 per unit. Along with this, the rate of purchase of power from private suppliers also increased by Rs 0.98 per unit in the month of August. The result of all these is sure to fall in the pocket of the customers. Annually 17,500 million units of electricity is available in the state, but it is not used to its full capacity and the fixed amount of electricity that is not used as per the agreement is put on the consumer, which is 30 paise per unit. The burden of electricity infrastructure being old and not being maintained is about Rs 3,600 crore every year. Citing all these reasons, Mahavitaran is demanding increase in rates from Merck. If this is not opposed, then customers may get expensive electricity shock from the coming month of April.
