CESC announces upward revision of tariff by five paisa per unit

Kolkata, Oct 1(UNI) Private power utility CESC today announced an upward revision of its tariff by five paise per unit this fiscal.

According to a ruling of West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission, the power utility will be allowed to increase the tariff to Rs 3.91 from Rs 3.86 per unit last fiscal. CESC, however, had filed a petition for tariff revision at Rs 4.13 per unit.

Based on the new tariff, the gross revenue of CESC from power generation and distribution would be Rs 2,804 crore this financial year as against Rs 2,905 crore as projected by the company in its petition, company sources said.

The regulatory commission has kept aside Rs 10 million from CESC's projected revenue for 2008-09 for lack of proper safety audit.

"For non-compliance of conducting safety audit in time, some revenue has been withheld from recovery by CESC," a statement issued by the regulator said.

All categories of consumers of CESC would now be required to pay a fixed charge per KVA (Kilo Volt Ampere) ranging from Rs.2.50 a month to Rs 15 a month.

"The fixed charges are computed on the basis of the infrastructure cost incurred by the power companies in bringing power to the consumer and from now every consumer should bear this cost," the company sources said.

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