300 units of free electricity could put an additional burden of Rs 7,433 cr on state exchequer

Gandhinagar: At a time when the Aam Aadmi Party plans to include 300 units of free electricity for each household as a part of its manifesto for the impending Gujarat polls, a top official of the energy department has claimed that the move will put a burden of Rs 7433 crore annually on the state’s exchequer if implemented.

The state government is already bearing a load of agricultural subsidy to the tune of Rs 8,324 crore annually.

According to sources, there are at present 1.61 crore domestic electricity consumers of which 1,24,21,000 domestic consumers consume less than or equal to 300 units of power every month. According to the AAP, there are only 14.1 lakh consumers who consume 200 units.

According to sources, the fixed charge on a per Megawatt basis is the lowest in Gujarat. The fixed cost for a 2 Megawatt connection in the state is Rs 15, for those looking for a 4 Megawatt connection is Rs 25, and the fixed cost for a 6 Mw connection is Rs 70. Against this in Delhi, the fixed cost for a 2 Mw connection is Rs 40, for a 4 Mw connection is Rs 200 and Rs 600 for a 6 Mw connection.

Thus the Mw-based connection charge in Delhi has been hiked by around 200-800%. Besides, because there is no agricultural consumption in Delhi, they don’t have the need to offer any subsidy to farmers.

DeshGujarat