Assam cabinet minister Nandita Gorlosa on Tuesday said that the state government is not responsible for rising the per unit price of electricity and that the decisions are taken by the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC).
Addressing reporters on the hike in electricity rates, Nandita Gorlosa said, “Temperatures are rising every day which is one of the main reasons for the problems. The rising temperatures have resulted in technical difficulties.”
She said, “For that reason, several places are currently facing power issues. Due to a shortage of power supply, we have had to resort to load shedding.”
The minister went on saying, “Electricity bills are not rising. Due to a rise in prices of petrol, there has been an inadvertent hike in electricity prices.”
She further said that the government does not decide on electricity price hikes. Gorlosa said, “The decision to rise electricity prices is not taken by the government. This decision comes from the electricity regulatory commission.”
“The regulatory commission will know whether the electricity bills are reduced or increased,” Gorlosa further added.
It may be noted that the APDCL announced on November 25 last year that it would levy a Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPPA) charge of 79 paise per unit on all categories of consumers on electricity bills for the months of November, December 2022 and January 2023.
Earlier this month, the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) decided to again hike the monthly tariff for electricity consumption spelling trouble for consumers in the state.
According to reports, APDCL hiked the tariffs by 30 paise to 70 paise per unit of electricity consumed. For consumers under subsidized Jeevan Dhara scheme, the hike will be 30 paise per unit, while for other consumers the hike will be 70 paise.
