OERC revises retail supply tariff for FY 2024-25; ‘domestic’ consumers to pay 10 Paise less

Bhubaneswar: Odisha State Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) today effected revised tariffs on retail power supply for the FY 2024-25. Accordingly, the Domestic category consumers shall have to pay their bills at 10 paise less as applicable to each slab than beforehand, an OERC notification said.

A hearing was underway for nearly the last 15 days to hike the retail power supply tariff. Power utilities and distribution companies (DISCOMs) had appealed for consideration of a rise in the existing tariff.

However, the retail tariff remained unchanged for consumers of several other categories.

Salient features of revised Retail Supply Tariff –

1. The retail supply tariff in the Domestic category has been reduced by 10 paise in each slab.
2. The retail supply tariff of all other categories has not been revised. The tariff of those categories has remained constant for three years including the ensuing year for FY 2024-25.
3. The fixed monthly charges for BPL consumers have been reduced from Rs 80 to Rs 70 per month.
4. The consumers who will opt for E-bill shall get a rebate of Rs 10 per bill.
5. The premium of the Green Energy tariff has been reduced from 25 Paise per unit to 20 Paise per unit.
6. The EV charging tariff has been reduced from Rs 5.50 per unit to Rs 5.00 per unit.
7. Consumers with pre-paid meters shall get a 4% rebate on the pre-paid amount and the LT domestic and single-phase general-purpose consumers shall continue to get a 4% digital payment rebate.
8. The cold storage tariff has been reduced by Rs 1.60 per unit from Rs 4.60 per unit to Rs 3.00 per unit.
9. Mega lift point consumers shall get a rebate of Rs 2.00 per unit and after that, they shall get a reduced tariff of Rs 3.80 per unit. No demand charge shall be levied.
10. Rural LT domestic consumers shall get a rebate of 10 Paise per unit if the bill is paid by the due date.
11. LT Industrial (S) and LT Industrial (M) Supply Consumers shall avail a rebate of 10 Paise per unit for all the units consumed if their monthly operating load factor is more than 40% if paid within the due date.
12. The Commercial, Industrial, and Consumers provided with smart meters having MD > 10KW, are eligible to get a ToD rebate of 10 Paise/unit in Energy Charge during Solar Hours. The above consumers shall pay a ToD surcharge of 20 Paise/unit during Peak Hours. The ToD rebate and surcharge shall not be applicable during Normal Hours. The hours in a day have been defined as follows:

8.00 AM to 4.00 PM – Solar Hours

After 4.00 PM up to 6.00 PM – Normal Hours

After 6.00 PM up to 12.00 AM (Midnight) – Peak Hours

After 12.00 AM (Midnight) before 8.00 AM of next day – Normal Hours

“The reduction of Retail Tariff by 10 Paise/unit for Domestic consumers by OERC today is unacceptable because the DISCOMs have collected excess tariff by Rs 5,000 Crore over and above the Average Tariff determined by OERC during the last five years. The above excess collection of Rs 5,000 Crore should be refunded to consumers along with interest under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 (Sec 62(6). Had it been refunded by OERC, then the retail tariff for Domestic consumers could have been reduced by Rs 2 per Unit. Instead of Rs 2, OERC reduced only 10 Paisa/unit. So it is unacceptable to us,” opined power analyst Anand Mohapatra.