Brace yourself for steeper electricity bills for the coming three months as the power distribution company will be levying an extra charge of 27 paise per unit for November, December and January. The additional burden will be levied as Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPA) charges, which is currently 76 paise per unit. The effective FPPA to be levied for the coming three months will by Rs 1.03 per unit.
The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) had wanted a hike of 36 paise per unit in FPPA, which was rejected by Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) and settled at 27 paise per unit. The hike will garner additional revenue of Rs 111.24 cr for the company.
Power minister Pradyut Bordoloi clarified that the hike has not been imposed by the state government but by the AERC. "The hike has been necessitated as a fuel surcharge following fluctuation in fuel price and the rate of power purchase. The calculation is done on a multi-year basis."
According to the Centre's policy on power tariff, the FPPA is a tool to recover uncontrollable costs to ensure that consumers are not taxed in the future with past costs. The uncontrollable costs include fuel cost, cost on account of inflation, variations in unit cost of power purchase, including on account of hydrothermal mix in the case of adverse natural events etc.
The AERC on September 26 passed the order allowing the hike, after the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) filed a petition on June 27 seeking approval of recovery of FPPA for the period from October 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, charged to its consumers with effect from February 1 to April 30, 2012. The APDCL had proposed an FPPA charge of Rs 1.12 per unit at that time.
The state's power demand has risen sharply over the past few years. The current average peak demand of power in the state is 1100 MW, which is more than double the demand five years ago. However, against the steady rise in demand for power, no initiatives have been taken to generate more power, resulting in a growing gap between generation and demand. The state's own generation is just 260 MW and it has to rely on purchased power from the Centre's power agencies.
2. Current FPPA is 76 paise per unit. Effective FPPA for next three months will by Rs 1.03 per unit
The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) had wanted a hike of 36 paise per unit in FPPA, which was rejected by Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) and settled at 27 paise per unit. The hike will garner additional revenue of Rs 111.24 cr for the company.
Power minister Pradyut Bordoloi clarified that the hike has not been imposed by the state government but by the AERC. "The hike has been necessitated as a fuel surcharge following fluctuation in fuel price and the rate of power purchase. The calculation is done on a multi-year basis."
According to the Centre's policy on power tariff, the FPPA is a tool to recover uncontrollable costs to ensure that consumers are not taxed in the future with past costs. The uncontrollable costs include fuel cost, cost on account of inflation, variations in unit cost of power purchase, including on account of hydrothermal mix in the case of adverse natural events etc.
The AERC on September 26 passed the order allowing the hike, after the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) filed a petition on June 27 seeking approval of recovery of FPPA for the period from October 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, charged to its consumers with effect from February 1 to April 30, 2012. The APDCL had proposed an FPPA charge of Rs 1.12 per unit at that time.
The state's power demand has risen sharply over the past few years. The current average peak demand of power in the state is 1100 MW, which is more than double the demand five years ago. However, against the steady rise in demand for power, no initiatives have been taken to generate more power, resulting in a growing gap between generation and demand. The state's own generation is just 260 MW and it has to rely on purchased power from the Centre's power agencies.
2. Current FPPA is 76 paise per unit. Effective FPPA for next three months will by Rs 1.03 per unit
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