Consumers will have to pay an extra 49 paise per unit for electricity as Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) has affected an increase in the variable cost adjustment (VCA) to Rs 1.10 per unit for the next two months.
The increased price of coal has lead to additional burden on major power generation companies like National Thermal Power Coporation (NTPC) which has resulted in the revision of costs.
Following the hike, more than 24 lakh consumers of the state will be affected and the electicity bill of December and January, 2023, will become even costlier.
Till now the VCA charge per unit was Rs 0.61 per unit. It will increase to Rs 1.10 per unit for December and January, putting an additional burden of Rs 0.49 per unit in the electricity bill of the consumers. Earlier, the power company had increased the VCA charge by Rs 0.23 per unit in September 2022.
This is the second time in the last four months, when the electricity tariff is being increased due to an increase in the VCA charge. The benefit of half electricity bill scheme is also available in VCA charge which means the consumer will have to pay VCA charge of Rs 0.55 per unit.
In the four months, electricity has become costlier by Rs 0.72 per unit. A consumer who consumes 100 units gets a bill of Rs 400. After 50 per cent half rate, the bill comes to Rs 200. Now consumers will have to pay an additional Rs 49 on the bill carrying the amount Rs 200.
The CSPDCL said that the main fuel for power generation in power plants is coal and oil and the price of these fuels keeps on fluctuating according to the market value. The CSERC calculates the rate of VCA on a quarterly basis from May 2012 to September 2015 for adjustment of increased or decreased fuel price after determination of electricity rates. Then the VCA is determined on a bi-monthly basis.
Chhattisgarh state power company chairman Ankit Anand told TOI that the use of blended coal by National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) for power generation made CSPDCL to increase the VCA charge. The State power company had to pay an additional amount of about Rs 450 crore to the NTPC which had increased the price of electricity for using imported coal costing Rs 13000-14000 per tonne. SECL coal costs Rs 3000-Rs 3500 per tonne.
On the other hand, only about Rs 20 crore additional amount was paid by the state company to its own power generation which used only SECL coal, he said.
“Nearly Rs 100 crore went to Biomass, Solar Energy and other nonconventional energy sources. When the NTPC will stop using imported coal, the VCA will come down. It is a national phenomena and almost all states follow this formula which is reviewed every two months,” the chairman said.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh has flayed the state government after the hike of VCA. Party state president Arun Sao said that Bhupesh Baghel came to power promising half electricity bill for consumers, but his government has been increasing the bill at regular intervals despite Chhattisgarh being a power surplus state. He described it as injustice to the people of Chhattisgarh.
