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Journalism of Courage
Three months after a power tariff hike in the Union Territory (UT), Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday directed officials to consider rationalising future power tariffs. In a meeting chaired by Kataria, instructions were issued to the Engineering Department to explore adjustments, including tariff reduction and relief for low-income consumers.
Officials clarified that Chandigarh’s tariffs for domestic and commercial consumers would remain lower than those in Punjab and Haryana.
In August, the JERC approved a 9.4% tariff hike for the fiscal year 2024-25 after reviewing a petition filed by the UT Power Department, which initially proposed a 19.44% increase. The JERC’s decision marks the first tariff rise since 2018-19; tariffs had either been reduced or held steady in the years following, including a 9.58% reduction for 2021-22 and a 1% cut for 2022-23. The current tariff order also spares consumers using up to 150 units from any increase.
The tariff hike was prompted by increased costs for procuring power from central generating projects, as Chandigarh lacks its own power generation and depends on power allocations from sources like BBMB, NTPC, and NHPC to meet demand, which peaked this year at 449 MW.
In a comparison of approved tariffs, Punjab’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) rates for domestic users range from Rs. 4.88 per unit for the 0-100 unit slab to Rs. 7.75 for 301 units and above. Haryana’s SERC rates are Rs. 2.00 per unit for the 0-50 unit slab and Rs. 5.97 per unit for usage above 150 units. Commercial tariffs in both states also remain higher than those in Chandigarh, where rates for businesses are currently regulated to provide competitive pricing.
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