NCR residents cry foul over slashed power tariff in Delhi
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NCR residents cry foul over slashed power tariff in Delhi

After Delhi government slashed the power tariff residents of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad expressed their concern.

NCR residents cry foul over slashed power tariff in Delhi

After Delhi government slashed the power tariff on Wednesday, residents of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad expressed their concern. Also on Thursday Delhi govt announced that people living in the capital do not have to pay any amount of their electricity bills if their power consumption does not exceed 200 units.

As per the notification of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, the fixed charges for households consuming upto 15 kw of units of power has been reduced categorically in Delhi.

However, with the proposed power tariff hike, each unit of electricity will cost Rs 6.10/kwh to Rs 7/kwh in Uttar Pradesh. If the distribution line losses are clubbed, one unit will cost Rs 7.70 kwh resulting in hike of tariff by 15 pc. Noida Resident said that such a hike is not justified and it is going to effect lakhs of residents from group housing societies in these cities. In additions to this, it has been proposed to hike fix charges from Rs 95/kw/month to Rs 110/kw/month.

After the news of power tariff slashed in Delhi disseminated, residents of group housing societies in Noida started complaining to Shrikant Sharma, Minister of Energy in the state government of UP. Dhananjay Singh, president of Grand Ajnara Heritage, a group housing society in Sector 74, Noida, complained that the minister should take cognisance of the issues. He said, "Is the energy being produced from Ganga Jal in Uttar Pradesh that the government proposed a hike of 25 pc in power tariff?"

Amit Gupta, a resident from Noida said, "The tariff was hiked consistently in the past two years. It is the third time in the past three years that they have proposed to increase the tariff rate. If not withdrawn, the cumulative power tariff hikes of past three years is going to be 42 per cent.''

Kuldeep Munish, another Noida resident retweeted saying, “UP government should learn a lesson from Delhi state government. Rates are almost half in Delhi than UP. It is shameful on the part of our state. They are just looting people. Seems like our representative MP and MLA are sleeping. They should be thrown next time.”

Vikash Kumar, a resident of a high rise in Greater Noida, said, "In December 2017, rates were increased by 11 per cent from Rs 5.50/kwh to Rs 6.10/kwh, which means 26 per cent hike was imposed in the last two years. Also, there is no slab wise tariff or rebate for flats owners in high rise, which is a big disadvantage for us."

"The power DISCOMS of Delhi and UP are moving in a similar market, still they have such a huge difference in electricity rates. That's because the DISCOMS in UP have become a hub of corruption which leads them to incur continuous losses," KK Kulshrestha, a resident of Crossings Republik, Ghaziabad commented.

Many saw it as a populist move to woo the voters as Delhi will be going for assembly elections in the coming few months.

Reacting on this, Aarti Mehsana, a resident of Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad said that electricity rates have always been cheaper in Delhi in comparison to UP. "So there's no question that the decision is taken keeping in view the upcoming election.” “Even if it has, then could UP government do the same?" she further asked.

The power distribution company had proposed the hike but a decision is yet to be taken on the matter. The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has collected objections cum suggestion from all stakeholders and it would consider on whether the power tariff has to be hiked or not.