Power rates hiked to prevent overdrawal

The new hiked rates would cause a dent in the power bills of those states which are power-deficient in summer months and have been overdrawing power from the grid.

With this,states like Punjab might have to shell out a few extra crores for purchasing power from the grid. Punjab buys an average of 50 lakh units per day during summer to make up for the electricity deficit in the state. 

Officials admitted that the new charges would prove heavy for the already cash-strapped state,as it would now have to bear the additional financial burden to bridge the gap between the demand and availability.

The paddy transplanting season also corresponds with the summer months,thus adding to the woes.

As per the new rates announced by CERC,states overdrwaing power when the frequency is below 49.5 Hz would have to pay a whopping Rs 17.46 per KW of power,against the Rs 10.29 per KW paid till yesterday.

Similarly,the new rates charged for overdrawal of power from the grid when the frequency is between 49.5 Hz to 49.2 Hz have jumped to Rs 12.22 per KW,against a variable rate of 4.97 to Rs 7.35 charged so far.

Incidentally,if any state bought power when the grid frequency is between 49.5 Hz to 49.48 Hz,one had to shell out Rs 4.97 per KW till yesterday,but would have to pay Rs 12.22 per unit,a hike of 146 per cent,from now on.

According to a CERC order,“The additional unscheduled interchange charge for overdrawal of electricity for each time-block when grid frequency is below 49.2 Hz shall be equivalent to 100 per cent of the charge 873.0 Paise/kWh corresponding to the grid frequency of below 49.5 Hz”.

Meanwhile,the power rates for overdrawal when the grid frequency is above 49.88 Hz and upto 50.2 Hz,has been reduced and states while buying power between this frequency will have to pay less.

The CERC order says,“The charge for unscheduled interchange shall be zero at grid frequency of 50.2 Hz and above”. This charge was zero at grid frequency of 50.3 Hz earlier.

Officials point out that regulatory regime has turned strict,so as to avoid overloading of the system and the hiked charges aim at ensuring system stability during peak summer months.

Due to overdrawing by certain states,the grid frequency falls substantially and other states have to suffer.

The issue of overdrawal of power from the grid has cropped up many a time during meetings of the northern region coordination committee,where many states have accused states like Uttar Pradesh of overdrawing power leading to a fall in grid frequency.