PANJIM: The Electricity Department has issued a public notice seeking response from the public over the proposed hike in power tariffs.
The tariff hike, if approved, is to be implemented from April 1, 2024. Citizens have been asked to give their suggestions or comments if any on the tariff petition before January 5, 2024.
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The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) will hold two public hearings for the new tariff structure at the Institute Menezes Braganza hall, Panjim for North Goa district on January 8 and at the Matanhy Saldanha Administrative Complex, Margao for South Goa district on January 9.
The Electricity Department has proposed a hike in energy charges of low tension domestic consumers from Rs 1.75/kWh to Rs 1.88/kWh for 0-100 units, for consumption between 101-200 units it has proposed to hike from Rs 2.6 to Rs 2.79/kWh, from Rs 3.3/kWh to Rs 3.7/kWh for consumption between 201-300 units, from Rs 4.4/kWh to Rs 4.9/kWh between 301-400 units and from Rs 5.1/kWh to Rs 5.8/kWh per unit for consumption above 400 units.
The department has also proposed a hike in energy charges for low tension consumers in the commercial, industrial, hotel industries and agricultural categories as well as for public lighting, hoardings and signboard and electric vehicle charging station categories.
As per the petition, the electricity department’s net revenue requirement is estimated at Rs 3,057.5 crore for 2024-2025. While revenue from sales at existing tariff will be Rs 2,442.60 crore creating a revenue gap of Rs 614.94 crore.
Even with the budgetary support of Rs 414.73 crore committed by the government, there will be a balance gap of Rs 200.22 crore, petition placed before the JERC said.
From the proposed tariff hike on low tension consumers, the department is hoping to earn additional Rs 85 crore, while the time of day (ToD) tariff is likely to fetch another Rs 115.3 crore for the department.
