Surcharge shocker for AP power consumers…

With the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Tuesday night approving the fuel surcharge proposals submitted by four discoms, nearly 2.2 crore power consumers across the state will have to cough up nearly Rs 3,050 crore passed on to them by the discoms for the power purchased by them at exorbitant rates during the years 2008-09 and 2009-10.
"The fuel surcharge will be collected from the consumers with immediate effect though there could be a delay with regard to some categories of consumers due to a stay granted by the AP High Court," AP Transco chairman Ajay Jain told TOI. According to sources, depending on the consumption, the fuel surcharge could range from Rs 120 per year to several thousand rupees per consumer.
However, in a big relief to the domestic consumers, they need not pay the fuel surcharge for 2008-09 as then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had agreed for the state to reimburse their share to the discoms. But industrial and commercial consumers will have to pay the fuel surcharge for 2008-09. For the year 2009-10, all consumers including domestic have to pay the surcharge as YSR's successor K Rosaiah had refused to take care of the dues of the domestic consumers. Since the 28.5 lakh agriculture farmers in the state are being supplied free power, the fule surcharge will not apply to them.
Of the total Rs 3,050 crore that the discoms are coughing up from the various consumers for those two years, the domestic sector will have to pay Rs 807 crore. "The domestic consumers will have to pay about 0.18 paise per unit in addition to their regular bill which means about 18% increase in their bills from next month onwards," said a senior official with the AP Transco.