Govt may bring back power subsidy

One subsidy,which was announced in 2005-2006,to cushion consumers from the rather substantial tariff hike announced that year was extended to all domestic consumers. Under the subsidy,all domestic consumers got a reduction of 25 paise per unit for consumption upto 200 units,35 paise per unit for consumption between 201 to 400 units and 55 paise per unit for consumption above 400 units. Keeping the current tariff in mind,the subsidy in effect reduces a consumer’s bill by a flat 10 per cent. (see box)

Under the other subsidy,domestic consumers who limit their electricity consumption to 150 units during non-peak demand months (December-February) and 200 units during the peak demand months (April- June) get power at the reduced rate of Re 1 per unit. The total cost of that subsidy to the government is Rs 200 crore per year. In June,the chief minister had announced that the government would continue with this particular subsidy. However,that is still to take effect. According to the power secretary,“Once the subsidy has been announced,it still has to be cleared by the Cabinet. There are various measures that have to be taken.”

The Power Secretary told Newsline the government was likely to take a decision in a week.