Bhubaneswar: In what could be a good news for power consumers, the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has spared them from a tariff hike in 2019-20 by keeping the energy charges unchanged for the second year.
A notification in this regard, which was kept on hold due to the poll code of conduct, was published on Tuesday.
“Retail tariff for financial year 2019-20 remains unchanged since last year. Tariff order for FY 2019-20 is effective from June 1, 2019,” an OERC statement said.
To promote cashless transaction, the commission has increased the rebate for digital payment from 1 to 2 per cent.
The OERC also said that an LT single-phase consumer who has made full, timely payment of his energy bill for 12 months of the financial year will get extra rebate equal to his rebate for the month of March.
A prospective new LT single phase connection up to 5 kW load will be charged Rs 1,500 for service connection along with a processing fee of Rs 25, excluding security deposit.
The ‘Tatkal Scheme’ for new connections applicable to LT Domestic, Agricultural and General Purpose consumers, shall continue.
5 paise per unit special rebate for prompt payment for rural consumers.
Discoms will collect rent for a meter for a period of 60 months only.
Charging of electric vehicles shall be treated as GP category use, if the vehicle charged is owned by the consumer concerned.