No relief for power consumers in Haryana, fuel surcharge to continue till December
Pradeep Sharma
Chandigarh, July 1
There is no relief in sight for lakhs of power consumers in Haryana in the run-up to the October Assembly elections as the Power Department has decided to continue the fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA) of 47 paise per unit till December 2024.
The FSA, which was being levied from April 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, will continue to be levied on the non-agricultural consumers and consumers consuming less than 200 units per month for six months more.
A circular issued by the Chief Engineers of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) said the “existing FSA @47paise per unit on various categories of power consumers will continue till December 2024”.
Decision Unjustified, anti-people
The continuation of the fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA) at a time when there is virtually a power crisis in the state in the wake of long unscheduled power cuts is unjustified and anti-people. A temporary provision like levy of the FSA should be perpetuated to put additional burden on the common man. —BB Batra, Congress chief whip
The FSA is effected to recover the amount incurred by the power distribution companies in arranging additional electricity supply through short-term agreements.
Meanwhile, the Congress reacted sharply to the continuation of the FSA by the BJP Government. “The continuation of the FSA at a time when there is a virtually power crisis in the state in the wake of long unscheduled power cuts is unjustified and anti-people. A temporary provision like levy of the FSA should be perpetuated to put additional burden on the common man,” asserted BB Batra, Congress chief whip in the Haryana Assembly.
However, sources claimed that the levy of the FSA was in accordance with various rules and regulations framed by various statutory bodies, including the power regulators — the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC). The state government recently announced relief for the power consumers by abolishing the minimum monthly charges, the sources claimed.
It may be noted that Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced the abolition of minimum monthly charges for domestic power consumers last month. This would mean that the people of the state would receive bills based solely on the number of units of electricity consumed.
What is fuel surcharge adjustment
The fuel surcharge adjustment is effected to recover the amount incurred by the power distribution companies in arranging additional electricity supply through short-term agreements
