Shimla: Amidst resentment over the Himachal Pradesh government’s choice to levy water cess for hydro energy era and its doubtless impact on consumers within the type of tariff hike, the cash-strapped state on Friday evening introduced that it might pay the subsidy to the State Electricity Board.

The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Fee (HPERC) on Friday issued an announcement saying that the water cess would impact consumers by Rs 1.20-1.30 per unit as well as to the present tariff. Naresh Chauhan, Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, instructed ThePrint that the chief minister has made it clear that consumers is not going to be burdened with the water cess and the Rs 1.20-1.30 per unit cess mounted by HPERC will likely be borne by the government. Which will likely be round 250 crores.

The state electricity board had filed a petition earlier than the HPERC in February to enhance the facility tariff by 86 paise per unit., The facility regulator took the choice on March 31 and elevated the facility tariff by 22 paise per unit for the consumers of the state.

The Himachal Pradesh government has imposed a cess on water utilized by hydropower tasks within the state. A cess of 10 paise per cubic meter will likely be levied on hydro tasks with a head (the peak between the place water enters and leaves the hydroelectric system) up to 30 metres; 25 paise per cubic meter for 30-60 metres; 35 paise per cubic meter for 60-90 meters and 50 paise per cubic meter for above 90 meters.

Himachal has 172 hydro tasks, and the levy of water cess is predicted to generate income of round Rs 4,000 crore.

Nonetheless, in accordance to former MD, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd., SN Verma, Talks of income era could also be a whimsical concept if the government has to pay subsidy to bear the impact of water cess.

“The cess on water utilized by different states for irrigation, ingesting functions will be justified because the water is consumed. Himachal has levied a cess to fill its coffers, but when it has to pay subsidies to neutralize the impact on consumers, it definitely is not a good suggestion to increase sources. instructed ThePrint,

Bonafide Himachali Rajesh Sharma, president of the Hydro Energy Builders Affiliation, argued that it’s impractical to count on energy era firms to bear the burden of the cess with out rising energy tariffs. “The electricity regulator has assessed the minimum impact of the water cess,” he stated. impression,

When requested concerning the impact of the transfer on the buying energy of different states from tasks in Himachal, Chouhan, principal advisor to the CM, stated, “The Chief Ministers of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh held Chief Secretary-level discussions on this problem. has determined. ,

A senior bureaucrat serving within the Himachal government additionally identified that the state’s electricity regulator has assessed the impact of greater than Rs 1 per unit on the buying energy of different states.

“This will lead to protests. Till now the states were only concerned about the water cess, but this could also lead to an increase in electricity tariffs, or those governments would bear the brunt like in Himachal Pradesh,” stated the bureaucrat on situation of anonymity talked to. instructed ThePrint.

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free electricity plan for consumption

Aside from giving subsidy to the State Electricity BoardThe state government has additionally determined to proceed the free electricity scheme for consumption up to 125 models.

The State Electricity Board has over 22 lakh consumers, of whom round 15 lakh are paying zero payments as they fall within the class of consumption of 0-125 models per 30 days.

In an announcement, HPERC spokesperson stated, “The energy tariff for all categories of consumers will be increased at a nominal rate of 22 paise per unit currently prevailing, except for electric vehicle charging stations, for which it has been increased by only 12 paise per unit.” ” Stating that the whole electricity obligation hike for the monetary 12 months 2023-24 is lower than 4 per cent.

The fee has estimated Rs 6,595 crore because the Annual Income Requirement (ARR) for the restricted HP State Electricity Board for the monetary 12 months 2023-24. “Average Cost of Supply for HPSEBL (Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited) After truing up, it’s estimated to be Rs 5.82/unit for the present monetary 12 months.

The fee has authorised 5.27 paise per unit for consumption of 125-300 models per 30 days and after government subsidy of Rs 1.10 per unit, consumers consuming greater than 125 models can have to pay on the fee of 4.17 paise per unit.

(Enhancing by Richa Mishra)

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