Abolish fixed charges, fuel surcharges on power bills: Sampat Singh

Hisar: Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) national patron and former minister Prof Sampat Singh on Wednesday demanded immediate withdrawal of fixed charges, enhanced power tariffs, fuel surcharge adjustments (FSA) and the cross-subsidy burden from electricity bills.Appearing before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission, Prof Singh claimed that despite the implementation of the Centre's UDAY Scheme in Haryana in 2015 — under which debts amounting to Rs 25,950 crore were taken over — power distribution companies were once again under mounting financial stress.Citing the figures shared in Parliament by the Union power minister, Prof Singh claimed that Haryana's power corporations had outstanding liabilities of Rs 20,311 crore as of March 2025, while cumulative losses rose to Rs 27,915 crore.He further said although the corporations reported a profit of Rs 712.72 crore in 2023-24 and projected a profit of Rs 1,605 crore for 2026-27, these amounts were factored into the annual revenue requirement for 2024-25. Additionally, the corporations sought an extra Rs 4,484 crore for the upcoming financial year, the INLD leader added.Raising concern over fixed charges, Prof Singh said domestic consumers were being levied Rs 50 to Rs 75 per kilowatt, while industrial consumers were facing an increase in fixed charges from Rs 165 to Rs 290 per kilowatt, along with higher tariffs.He compared this with Delhi and Rajasthan, where fixed charges stand at Rs 125 and Rs 160 per kilowatt, respectively, warning that industries could shift due to higher costs.The senior leader claimed that fixed charges alone would generate nearly Rs 20,000 crore during 2025-26 and 2026-27, over and above regular tariffs. High-tension (HT) consumers, he said, were being burdened with an additional Rs 1.41 per unit as cross-subsidy, while low-tension (LT) consumers were paying 31 paise per unit.Describing the FSA as a "never-ending issue", Prof Singh said it was currently being charged at 47 paise per unit. Though the recovery was announced in April 2023 and was to conclude by June 2024, it continues to remain in force. He urged the commission to clearly disclose the total FSA recovery and the remaining amount to the consumers.He pointed out that nearly 22 lakh consumers had outstanding electricity bills amounting to Rs 8,000 crore. "Honest and regular consumers are bearing the burden," he said, urging the govt to assume responsibility for these dues, just as it took over the corporations' earlier debt.Prof Singh also alleged financial irregularities in the functioning of the power utilities.MSID:: 128786104 413 |