Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Mar 25: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that the power tariff in Jammu and Kashmir is lowest in the country and no excessive bills are being raised.
“Domestic consumers are charged Rs 2.30 per unit and that in comparison, the average cost of power supply is around Rs 7 per unit,” Omar told Legislative Assembly while responding to the clubbed question submitted by legislators Dr Narendra Singh Rana, Sajad Gani Lone and Shabir Ahmad Kullay.
The Chief Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Power Department, said that the current tariff for domestic consumers ranges from Rs 2.30 per unit up to Rs 200 per month to Rs 4.35 per unit, which is amongst the lowest in the country.
For the BPL or below poverty line category, the tariff is even lower at Rs. 1.40 per unit for consumption up to 30 units per month.
“In comparison, the average cost of power supply is around Rs. 7 per unit. As such, there are no excessive bills being charged to consumers,” Omar said in his reply.
The Chief Minister added that the metered consumers are billed based on actual consumption, while non-metered consumers are billed on a flat rate basis, which is determined by their sanctioned agreed load according to the applicable tariff slabs.
Further, Omar said that in case of any billing-related complaints from consumers, these are promptly examined and addressed as per the Electricity Supply Code. As regards the waiving of excessive electricity bills, it is to be mentioned that unpaid electricity bills over months or years result in an accumulation of arrears.
“Even in such cases, in an effort to streamline the billing and collection systems, an opportunity to waive the interest surcharge component on outstanding electricity arrears has been provided to domestic consumers to clear their dues under the ongoing amnesty scheme. The Government intends to extend the existing amnesty scheme with modifications as announced by the Minister-in-Charge Power during his reply to the discussion on the grants. A large number of consumers from almost every district have already benefited from this scheme.”
Regarding the financial implications of providing 200 units of free electricity, the Chief Minister said that the department has decided to adopt the RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) model for the installation of solar rooftop systems at premises of AAY households which are mostly located in hilly areas. This approach, according to Omar, will enable local electricity generation, eliminating the costs associated with transmitting and distributing electricity from district generators. Additionally, the subsidy provided by the ongoing scheme will be leveraged.
Omar said that the proposal aims to benefit all households falling under the AAY category by providing them with free electricity up to 200 units, thereby alleviating their financial burden and improving their quality of life. “This shall be done through the RESCO utility-led aggregation model or any other financially viable model to benefit the aforementioned households. Regarding electricity bills, it is stated that consumers in J&K are charged heavily subsidised tariffs, especially in the domestic category. A survey of the target beneficiaries is being initiated and once completed, taking the factors mentioned above into account, a financial model will be finalized to ensure the most suitable and sustainable implementation.
The Chief Minister said that any reduction or increase in the power tariffs is regulated and decided by the JERC. (KNO)
