The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) has sought an increase of ₹1.13 per unit across all slabs.
Making a presentation at the public hearing organised by Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) here on Wednesday, D. Kiran, Managing Director, CESC, said the corporation was facing a revenue loss of ₹265.68 crore during the financial year 2019. If the ₹21.44 crore profit accrued during the financial year 2016-17 is subtracted from the regulatory asset of ₹517.98 crore, the net revenue loss during financial year 2019 will be ₹762.23 crore.
Hence, he urged KERC to allow CESC to increase the power tariff by ₹1.13 per unit across all slabs to overcome the revenue shortage.
Listing the reasons for revenue shortage, Mr. Kiran said the cost incurred by CESC for purchase of power for supplying to consumers far outstrips the present tariff.
A hike in the tariff will not only help CESC overcome the loss, but also streamline the distribution network. He claimed that CESC had provided electricity connections to six villages and 66 hamlets covering a total of 2,772 households under a De-centralised Distributed Generation (DDG).
The objective of DDG is to provide electricity to un-electrified habitations including hamlets, thandas and hadis, besides Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, where grid connectivity from conventional energy source is not feasible owing to its location in thick forests, hilly terrain and remote border areas.
The hearing was conducted by KERC chairman Shankarlinge Gowda, who was assisted by KERC members D.B. Manivel Raju and H.D. Arun Kumar.
