Maharashtra electricity tariffs likely to rise from April 1

Get ready to pay more for electricity in Maharashtra from the 1st of April especially if you are a customer of the state run distribution companies. Even though the last electricity tariff hike in Maharashtra was only three years ago, distribution companies operating in the state have written to Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) asking for another tariff hike. As per the Electricity Act, tariff hikes happen once every 5 years, but there is a provision of mid-term hike as well.

Nitin Herlekar, Assistant General Manager of Distribution at BEST said, "Increased cost of power is the reason we sought a power tariff hike from MERC."

But it is not just BEST, other state owned as well as private distribution companies have also filed similar petitions - this includes state owned MSEDCL and private players like Tata Power and Adani Electricity.

Sanjay Banga, President of Transmission & Distribution at Tata Power said, "We have actually sought the rationalisation of the tariff. So different consumers under different slabs will see different change in the tariff."

These petitions for a hike were filed few months ago. As per procedure, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission conducted various meetings across the state to give a platform to various stakeholders, before taking a decision. The meetings were concluded recently and commission officials told CNBC-TV18 that final order is being drafted and it will be out by March 31. The new tariff will be applicable from April 1, 2023.

This will impact 7,50,000 consumers of Tata power, 30,00,000 consumers of Adani Power, 10,47,000 consumers of BEST and 3,00,00,000 consumers of MSEDCL.

State owned MSEDCL has sought tariff hike of 14 percent for 2024 and 11 percent for 2025 to stay at par with the increased cost of power due to high coal prices and other factors making power purchase more expensive. Recently Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced a 24 percent tariff hike in the state. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have also sought similar tariff hikes.

This electricity tariff hike will be applicable on consumers of all the categories, including the farmers of the state. For Maharashtra farmers, who are already seeking some relief on electricity bill front and have already bore huge losses due to crop damage, this will add to their financial woes. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told CNBC-TV18 that as of now there is no plan to provide any subsidies to the farmers but if required, state will provide some concession once the new electricity bills are generated.