No hike in power tariff in Haryana this year

Chandigarh, March 6

There will be on power tariff hike in Haryana for the year 2024-25. The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has given its order on the petition for Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) filed by the power distribution corporations, namely the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN).

Giving relief to over 78.57 lakh consumers, the ARR order will be effective from April 1, 2024. HERC Chairman Nand Lal Sharma and members Naresh Sardana and Mukesh Garg have directed the discoms to improve their operational efficiency and reduce Aggregate Transmission and Commercial Loss (AT&C) from 12 per cent to 10 per cent.

The HERC had conducted a public hearing on February 8 regarding the ARR order, in which arguments/suggestions of UHBVN/DHBVN officials and the public were heard, after which a State Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting was held on February 9 and the SAC’s suggestions regarding the new ARR order were recorded.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, an ARR of Rs 18,620.91 crore was approved for the UHBVN and Rs 25,642.36 crore for the DHBVN. The state government will provide a subsidy of Rs 5,941.17 crore for agricultural consumers, marking a reduction of Rs 109 crore from the previous year.

In a bid to promote green energy initiatives, the HERC has significantly reduced the green energy premium from Rs 2.50 per kWh to Rs 0.88 per kWh.

With a focus on reducing AT&C losses, the HERC has set ambitious targets for discoms to achieve below 25 per cent losses for urban feeders and below 50 per cent for rural feeders in 2023-24.

Targets for discoms

The HERC has set ambitious targets for discoms to achieve below 25% losses for urban feeders and below 50% for rural feeders in 2023-24 to reduce AT&C losses