In the light of muted industrial activities amidst the ongoing lockdown to contain the coronavirus, the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments/regulators have asked their power distribution companies (discoms) to put a moratorium on payment of fixed charges to large consumers. Electricity bills have two components: fixed and variable. While the fixed or capital charges are predetermined amount that consumers pay on a monthly basis, the variable charges are based on the volume of electricity consumed.
On Thursday, Maharashtra power regulator has instructed its discoms to defer fixed charge payments for large consumers for three months starting March 25. The monthly fixed charge of industrial and commercial consumers in Maharashtra are in the range of Rs 303 –411 for every kilovolt-ampere-hour (kVAh). State-run Maharashtra state electricity distribution company (MSEDCL), the state’s main discom, earns more than `5,800 crore in a year only from fixed charges.
