Power tariff hike could not be avoided, says Aryadan
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Thiruvananthapuram: Minister for Electricity Aryadan Mohammed on Sunday said that the government was not in a position to avoid the power tariff hike that came into effect on Saturday.
“The (power) tariff hike was unavoidable. However, the Cabinet will discuss the possibilities of proposing subsidy for the domestic consumers,” Aryadan said here.
A hefty increase of about 24 per cent in power tariff was slapped on domestic consumers of electricity in the State with effect from August 16.
As per the orders issued by Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission, there would be an average increase of 8.5 per cent tariff for power consumption for all categories of consumers to mobilise additional revenue of Rs 1,027 crore for the Kerala Electricity Board. For domestic consumers only, the hike is, however, about 24 per cent.
There is no change in the power tariff of Rs.1.50 for consumption of power upto 40 units but this has been limited to BPL category families.
Other domestic consumers would have to pay Rs 2.80 up to 50 units and the present slab system would continue with minor changes upto consumption of 250 units per month. Domestic consumers who consume more than 250 units would have to pay Rs.5 per unit for each unit.