No impact on consumers: Principal Secy Power
Several structural reforms taken in power sector
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 24: Though the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has approved 15% hike in power tariff yet there will not be any impact on the consumers as the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has immediately abolished 15% Electricity Duty. However, the Government is determined to carry forward structural reforms in the power sector so as to provide reliable power supply to the consumers while bringing down Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, which are still very high and putting financial burden on the exchequer.
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The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission while exercising power vested in it under Section 61 and Section 62 of the Electricity Act has approved uniform 15% hike in power tariff for all categories of the consumers in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Commission has decided to bridge the revenue gap with existing tariff partially with grand-in-aid being provided by the J&K Government to the utilities-Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited and Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited and partially through reasonable hike in tariff”, read the order of JERC.
The order further states: “The Commission has arrived at a reasonable tariff hike scenario which will not provide tariff shock to the consumers. The proposed increase of flat rate of unmetered consumer will act as a deterrent in continuing unmetered connection and reduce the resistance in adoption of pre-paid smart meters”.
The Commission has decided to factor-in the budgetary provision made by the UT Government to the extent of Rs 1943.47 crore as an assured grant-in-aid support to the JPDCL and KPDCL and construed it as tariff related revenue subsidy provided under Section 65 of the Act and approve the Annual Revenue Requirement and moderate increase in tariff for the financial year 2023-24 to meet the un-met revenue gap.
However, in order to ensure that there is no burden on the consumers the Government, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor, has abolished 15% Electricity Duty which means there will be nil impact on people, said Principal Secretary to the Government, Power Development Department, H Rajesh Prasad while addressing a press conference here this afternoon, adding “even the revised overall tariff rate remains below the actual procurement cost incurred by the JPDCL and KPDCL in supplying power to consumers”.
“To safeguard consumers from an increase in their electricity bills, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has taken a proactive step by withdrawing the 15% Electricity Duty previously applied to energy charges in the existing tariff structure. This calculated decision ensures that the overall impact on consumers’ electricity bills is nullified”, he said.
“However, the Government is determined to carry forward structural reforms in the power sector so as to provide reliable power supply to the consumers while bringing down Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, which are still very high and putting financial burden on the exchequer”, the Principal Secretary further said.
Stating that power sector reforms were started very late in Jammu and Kashmir as compared to other parts of the country, he said, “now the Government of the Union Territory has successfully implemented series of reforms aimed at delivering improved and high-quality power supply to consumers at an affordable price”.
He disclosed that an amount of Rs 5000 crore has been invested in increasing transmission and distribution capacity through different Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Capex Budget. “This investment aims to create adequate capacities in almost every district, providing regular and quality power supply to citizens”, he said, adding “the long waited reforms have aligned Jammu & Kashmir with other Indian States/UTs, ensuring consumer services are enhanced while ensuring the sustainability of the power sector”.
To ensure that the newly formed Corporations are provided with a clean balance sheet, all the outstanding dues on account of power purchase, accumulated to the tune of Rs 30700 crore over several years, were taken over by the Government and cleared by availing soft loans under Government of India Schemes like Atmanirbhar Bharat and LPS Rules.
“The distribution companies are still grappling with high losses attributed mainly to power theft, poor metering and low tariff rates, which are a major cause of concern not only for the department but also threaten the overall efficiency of the sector”, the Principal Secretary said, adding “the high Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses, reaching 44% in Jammu and 58% in Kashmir as compared to the national average of 16.44%, have left distribution companies unable to meet power purchase expenses, leaving aside other critical expenditures like Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and capital investments, which still continue to be supported by Government”.
Stating that large number of power consumers are yet to be covered under smart metering, he appealed to the people to get smart meters installed to avoid flat rate of tariff and help the Government in ensuring financial sustainability of the power sector and getting uninterrupted power supply.
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