Much awaited circular for the year from KERC(Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission) is out: KERC has announced the revised electricity tariff for the ESCOM consumers in Karnataka. Not many surprises, as there is an increase in the tariff compared to the previous year. Even though the BESCOM had asked for hikes up to Rs. 1.5 per unit of energy being supplied to the consumers, it has been limited to the range of Rs. 0.50 for the majority of the consumers.
COMMERCIAL TARIFF
Commercial segment constitutes 9.3% of all the consumers of BESCOM. Following is how the price have increased for this segment:
| Sanctioned Load Fixed Charge | Rs.50/- |
| Consumption Energy Charges | |
| 0 to 50 Units | Rs.7.15/- per Unit |
| Above 50 Units | Rs.8.15/- per Unit |
Table 1: Old Tariff for Commercial Sector
| Sanctioned Load Fixed Charge | Rs.60/- |
| Consumption Energy Charges | |
| 0 to 50 Units | Rs.7.50/- per Unit |
| Above 50 Units | Rs.8.50/- per Unit |
Table 2: Updated Tariff for Commercial Sector
RESIDENTIAL TARIFF
Residential segment consumers(LT2) constituting 67.1% of the total number of consumers of BESCOM, will find an increase in 25 to 40 paisa per unit. Here is the increase in tariff for the LT2 consumers:
| Sanctioned Load Fixed Charges | |
| Fixed Charge for First kW | Rs.30/- |
| Fixed Charge for Additional kW | Rs.40/- |
| Consumption Energy Charges | |
| 0 to 30 Units | Rs.3/- per Unit |
| 31 to 100 Units | Rs.4.4/- per Unit |
| 101 to 200 Units | Rs.5.9/- per Unit |
| Above 200 Units | Rs.6.9/- per Unit |
Table 3: Old Tariff Structure for Residential Sector
| Sanctioned Load Fixed Charges | |
| Fixed Charge for First kW | Rs.30/- |
| Fixed Charge for Additional kW | Rs.40/- |
| Consumption Energy Charges | |
| 0 to 30 Units | Rs.3/- per Unit |
| 31 to 100 Units | Rs.4.4/- per Unit |
| 101 to 200 Units | Rs.5.9/- per Unit |
| Above 200 Units | Rs.6.9/- per Unit |
Table 4: Updated Tariff Structure for Residential Building
Overall there is an increase in tariff of ~8%.
IMPACT-RESIDENTIAL
Here is some calculation on how the new tariff will affect the consumers in residential sector consuming energy from 100 to 500 units:
| Consumption (Units) |
Bill Under Old Tariff |
Bill Under Current Tariff |
Difference |
| 150 | Rs. 693.00 | Rs. 739.00 | Rs. 46.00 |
| 250 | Rs. 1,333.00 | Rs. 1,416.50 | Rs. 83.50 |
| 350 | Rs. 2,023.00 | Rs. 2,149.00 | Rs. 126.00 |
| 450 | Rs. 2,713.00 | Rs. 2,886.50 | Rs. 173.50 |
| 550 | Rs. 3,403.00 | Rs. 3,626.50 | Rs. 223.50 |
| 650 | Rs. 4,093.00 | Rs. 4,366.50 | Rs. 273.50 |
Table 5: Impact of Tariffs on Bill of Residential Customers
IMPACT-COMMERCIAL
| Consumption (Units) |
Bill Under Old Tariff |
Bill Under Current Tariff |
Difference |
| 150 | Rs. 1,172.50 | Rs. 1,225.00 | Rs. 52.50 |
| 250 | Rs. 1,987.50 | Rs. 2,075.00 | Rs. 87.50 |
| 350 | Rs. 2,802.50 | Rs. 2,925.00 | Rs. 122.50 |
| 450 | Rs. 3,617.50 | Rs. 3,775.00 | Rs. 157.50 |
| 550 | Rs. 4,432.50 | Rs. 4,625.00 | Rs. 192.50 |
| 650 | Rs. 5,247.50 | Rs. 5,475.00 | Rs. 227.50 |
Table 6: Impact of Tariff on Bills of Commercial Customers
The electricity bill as expected is going to increase as we see in the above columns. Best way to keep the bill in control is by using energy efficient equipment like LED lights, energy efficient fans, refrigerators, ACs, pumps etc.
Along with energy efficient equipment, solar roof-top PV systems can also help in reducing the electricity bill and to a great extend bring down the bill to zero and even the BESCOM to pay the consumer for the solar generation. More on how solar helps: link to net metering
