Goa government has recommended a hike in the power tariff for 2023-24 to meet the revenue gap. It has proposed 15 paise to 60 paise per Kwh hike for domestic low-tension line consumers and 70 paise per Kwh for high-tension domestic consumers.
A government notice specifies a category-wise tariff proposal for FY 2023-24. For domestic low-tension line consumers hike of 15 paise to 60 paise per kilowatt hour (Kwh) has been proposed based on units consumed.
In addition, it has been proposed to increase the fixed charges to Rs 22/Kilowatt/per month. For high-tension domestic consumers, a hike of 70 paise per kilowatt hour has been proposed.
For commercial low-tension consumers, a hike from 45 paise to 75 paise per kilowatt hour has been proposed as per units consumed.
There will also be a hike of Rs 5/KW/month on fixed charges for consumers with a load up to 20 KW and a hike of Rs 10/KW/month on fixed charges for consumers with a load more than 20 KW has been proposed.
The electricity department had filed a petition for a tariff proposal for FY 2023-24 before the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) on Nov 30, 2022.
The government bridges the revenue gap of the department each year through budgetary support and the proposed revenue gap for FY 2023-24 of Rs 348.69 cr will be met through budgetary support by the government, states the notice.
“However, the same will not help in the long run. Hence, the Electricity Department (ED) of Goa has decided to increase the tariff for consumers as is being levied on them currently. Accordingly, to partially bridge the revenue gap and to avoid the tariff shock to consumers in future, ED proposes to increase the current tariff,” stated the public notice.
PUBLIC RESPONSE BY JAN 24
State Electricity Department has issued a public notice inviting a response from the public over the proposed tariff hike for the financial year 2023-24.
Objections, suggestions and comments are to be sent before January 24 to the Secretary, Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission with a copy to the Chief Electrical Engineer, Electricity Department, Government of Goa.
JERC will later announce the schedule of the public hearing and its venue separately.