No power tariff hike in Odisha

In a major relief to power consumers in the state, the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) on Thursday rejected the petitions filed by OHPC and OPGC on power tariff hike and kept the power tariff rate unchanged in the state.

Both Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (OHPC) and Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) had moved the OERC seeking a hike in power tariff. They sought an average hike of Rs 2 per unit.

However, the petition filed by the Grid Corporation of Odisha (Gridco), the bulk power supplier to the consumers, is yet to be heard by the commission.

"The OHPC had asked for income tax reimbursement of Rs 40 crore from Gridco but the commission rejected it as it does not come under the purview of review application," said OERC Director (Regulatory Affairs) Priyabrata Pattnaik.

"On the other hand, OPGC had sought guarantee commission and working capital loan to reimburse in tariff and it has been rejected as well."

The power generating bodies had filed the review petitions four months after the power tariff was increased by 10 paise per unit on March 23.

--IANS

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