Extra charges to be refunded to power consumers in 2 yrs: UP Govt

Uttar Pradesh government today accepted that it has charged 20 per cent electricity duty from rural un-metered power consumers in place of 5 per cent and Rs 523 crore was realised from them and it will be returned to consumers in next two years.
"The electricty duty for rural un-metered consumers was fixed at 5 per cent but 20 per cent was realised from them by discoms. By this Rs 523 crore was realised from the consumers and it has been decided to refund it in next two years," state Energy Minister Srikant Sharma said.
He was replying to a question raised by BSP member Ritesh Pandey in the state assembly.

Replying to another question, the minister said, "In the state, 17,200 MW power is available and the demand was between 11,000-14,500 MW in peak days. This is sufficient for the state."
Of the declared schedule of providing 24-hour power in urban, 20 hours in tehsil and 18 hours in rural areas at present, the state is able to supply on an average 23.10 hrs in urban, 20.01 hours in tehsil and 18 hours of electricity in rural areas, he said.