Tata Power plans rate hike for residential consumers

MUMBAI: Tata Power has proposed an average billing rate hike of 20-38% for a majority of its low-end residential the changeover consumers. There’s some good news for its high-end consumers in this category as it has proposed a drop in rates from 10-14%. Despite the hike, the power utility firm will continue to have the cheapest and most competitive rates in Mumbai.
“A lot depends on power rates proposed by BEST.In fact BEST, which faces stiff competition from Tata Power in the island city, recently submitted its revised petition to MERC and this is yet to be admitted by the regulatory commission. Only after the petition is made public can we compare it with the present tariff proposal published by Tata Power,” said a power expert.
Reliance Energy, the other power utility which services the city, recently published its tariff petition proposing a tariff hike of only up to 10%, for more than two million residential consumers in the suburbs, for 2016-17.
As for Tata Power’s direct consumers, which comprise only 10% of the total users, the hike in average billing rate is proposed at 53% for those in the consumption category of 101-300 units, while it is as high as 71% for those in the 0-100 units category. Sources in TPC said not many consumers fall in this category and even if the tariff is hiked to this extent, it will still remain “competitive”. The proposed hike for high-end residential users is in the range of 2-9%. TPC caters to more than six lakh consumers in the island city and suburbs.
TPC will now invite suggestions and objections from the public. Sources said only after a public hearing will MERC finalise tariffs for the next four fiscals, till 2020.
The state government is keen to have uniform tariff in Mumbai, and with BEST recently proposing a drop in tariff, this could be a possibility in the near future, a power expert claimed. The state government has roped in Deloitte to prepare a report on introducing uniform power tariff in Greater Mumbai for consumers with a monthly consumption of up to 500 units.
Meanwhile, TPC in its proposal, has reduced the hike burden by 5-6% for 2017-18 while high-end users could expect a fall in tariff by 17-18%.