Relief for TN consumers: Tangedco set to correct big anomaly in tariff petition

Domestic consumers will soon get relief even if they consume one unit more than 500 units bimonthly as the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (Tangedco) has asked the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) to correct this anomaly in the Tangedco petition for 2022.

As present, consumers, if their bimonthly consumption is even one unit more than 500 units, they end up paying ₹657 more as the bill is calculated in a different manner.

But in the petition, Tangedco has asked that every 100 units from 100 units onwards will have a different tariff and therefore it will not matter if a consumer consumes just one unit more than 500 units as every 100 units will be calculated as per the tariff.

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“At present, there is an anomaly and several complaints have come to us. For example, if a household consumes 500 units bimonthly, the household will have to pay ₹1130 but if the same household consumes 501 units bimonthly, he or she will have to pay ₹1787 as the entire consumption is calculated at the tariff beyond 500 units,” said a senior Tangedco official.

“In the tariff petition, we have asked the TNERC to correct this anomaly. We have mentioned in the petition that a separate tariff from 100 units onwards keeping the first 100 units free. Since there is a separate tariff for every 100 units, if a household crosses 500 units in two months, it will end up paying much less in the new tariff compared to the present one,” said the official.

Though Tangedco was getting more revenue through this on the flip side, its own assessors were “cheating” the discom.

“We have come to know that in many areas the assessors who take the readings will see that a household does not cross 500 units bimonthly in the present tariff. They will lower the consumption by 10 units and adjust the same in the coming months. Under the new tariff the assessors may not be able to cheat,” said the official.

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The official clarified that the first 100 units will be free unless the consumer on his own writes to Tangedco stating that he does not want those units free.

“We will continue the scheme announced by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. But in the new tariff, the rate will rise in every 100 units. Thus the new tariff will be progressive and only those who consume more power will end up paying more,” said the official.