Ranchi, September 30 (IANS). Electricity consumers of Jharkhand have got a big relief. Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission has rejected the proposal given by Jharkhand Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) regarding increasing electricity rates.
The Commission has accepted that there has been no significant improvement in the electricity supply and infrastructure in the state in a year, due to which the proposal to increase the prices should be considered justified.
JBVNL had proposed to increase the domestic electricity price by Rs 2.85 per unit in the year 2024-25, citing increasing expenses and liabilities in power distribution. Similarly, the proposal of increasing the commercial category and implementing load based fixed charge was also placed before the commission.
The proposal was to charge the consumer about Rs 100 per kilowatt load. The Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission had held public hearings on the proposal from August 23 to September 2 in all five divisions of the state, in which consumers had described any increase as illogical.
Jharkhand’s Federation of Chamber of Commerce had also strongly opposed this proposal, saying that the increase in electricity prices would adversely affect industry and business in the state. The Commission, after considering the facts revealed after hearing all the parties, the existing electricity tariff and the proposal of Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited during the last one year, refused to approve any increase.
Let us tell you that recently the Jharkhand government has made up to 200 units of electricity free in the state. Apart from this, the old outstanding electricity bills of 39 lakh 44 thousand 389 consumers of the state, who were outside the scope of income tax, were waived off. There was an outstanding electricity bill of about Rs 3,584 crore.
–IANS
SNC/ABM
