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Your electricity bills may soon increase as the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation plans to hike the municipal cess on electricity consumption to bring it on par with Punjab. An agenda proposing this increase will be discussed at the house meeting on Saturday, which will also be attended by the Chandigarh Administrator.
The municipal cess, currently set at 10 paise per unit, was introduced in December 2019. It generates an annual revenue of approximately Rs 15-16 crore for the civic body. Comparatively, Punjab levies a municipal tax of 2% on electricity consumption, translating to about 16 paise per unit, while Haryana charges 8 paise per unit.
“Since the Municipal Corporation is experiencing a financial crunch, it is exploring additional revenue sources. It is proposed to enhance the municipal cess on electricity consumption from 10 paise per unit to 16 paise per unit, aligning with Punjab,” the agenda noted. This revision could boost the annual revenue to Rs 22-23 crore, officials said.
This development follows a 9.4% increase in power tariffs approved by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for the financial year 2024-25, effective from August 1, 2024. The tariff hike, approved against a proposal for a 19.44% increase, was the first in several years.
Previously, power tariffs had remained unchanged or even reduced. A 9.58% reduction was implemented for 2021-22, followed by a 1% cut in 2022-23, with no increase for 2023-24. The latest hike reflects rising costs of power purchases and other operational expenses to ensure sustainability under the Electricity Act, 2003.
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