HERC hearing: Sampat pleads for tariff cut

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 30

Former minister and Congress leader Sampat Singh today pleaded before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) to reduce the per unit cost of electricity to consumers by Rs 2.26 as the Discoms are supposed to pass on benefits under the Ujjwal Discoms Assurance Yojna (UDAY) scheme.

The HERC today held a public hearing to decide power tariff of the Discoms.

Appearing as a consumer, Sampat Singh said under the UDAY, the Centre, the state government and the Discoms had signed a tripartite MoU to improve operational and financial efficiency of the Discoms.

Under this, the state government had taken over 75 per cent of the Rs 34,600 crore outstanding debt of the Discoms in 2015-16 and 2016-17, which amounted to Rs 25,900 crore.

The Discoms paid interest of Rs 2,374 crore annually, which raised the cost of electricity by Rs 0.74 per unit in 2014-15.

He argued that if the price index and volume of the loan increase was taken into account, this cost component would be Re 1 per unit after two years in 2016-17.

The interest burden of the Discoms would be reduced and the cost of electricity would correspondingly come down by Re 1 per unit.

The Discoms had issued bonds amounting to Rs 7,366 crore to banks in 2012.

The annual interest liability was Rs 722 crore on these bonds. This payment would be made by the government in 2016-17. Per unit saving in cost of power on this count would be Rs 0.26.

The total savings to Discoms in terms of cost per unit of power on account of reduced interest burden would be Rs 2.26, he added.

He also pleaded for withdrawal of the FSA from Rs 1.17 to Rs 1.69 per unit levied in September, 2015.