Dear Bangaloreans, your electricity bill is going go up – here’s why

During this season of price increases, people will now have to pay more for another essential item — electricity. On Monday, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) announced a 35-paise-per-unit increase in electricity tariffs for the next fiscal year (2022-23). This represents a 4.33 percent increase. The increase was announced on the same day that the Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association (BBHA) met on Monday evening and recommended that hoteliers raise food prices by up to 10%.

While the BBHA has left it up to the proprietors to decide on the hike, the Commission has allowed a 5 paise per unit increase in energy prices and a 10 to 30 per HP/KWh/KVA increase in fixed charges to fund a gap of $2,159 crore. The energy supply companies (Escoms) had requested a 185 paise per unit average increase, accounting for a 23.83 percent rise in the estimated revenue deficit of ₹11,320 crore.