Haryana discom UHBVN proposes 15 pc power tariff hike

Haryana's power distribution company UHBVN has proposed tariff hike of 15 per cent across all categories to recover the cumulative revenue gap of Rs 3,898.72 crore.
In its petition for annual performance review for 2014-15 and revised annual revenue requirement (ARR) for 2015-16 filed with power regulator HERC, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVN) has prayed for suitable orders to address the total estimated gap of Rs 3,898.72 crore.
The estimated gap consists of the estimated gap for financial year (FY) 2014-15 along with the projected ARR of FY 2015-16 and including the recovery of the un-recovered revenue gap for FY 2013-14.

The cumulative revenue gap from 2013-14 to 2015-16 is estimated to be Rs 3,898.72 crore after taking into consideration the revenue gaps, holding costs and subsidies to be availed, said the petition.
"To address this gap, the Nigam proposes to increase the tariff across the categories by 15 per cent in line with the FRP," it said.
The cumulative gap includes revenue gap of Rs 1,587.52 crore for 2013-14, Rs 1,117.30 crore for 2014-15 and Rs 1,193.90 crore for 2015-16, as per petition.

UHBVN undertakes power distribution and retail supply business in 10 districts of Haryana including, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat, Rohtak, Panchkula and Jhajjar.

Notably, UHBVN had not proposed any hike in power tariff for financial year 2014-15.
The power utility has projected net ARR of Rs 14,016 crore for 2015-16 and after deducting revenue generation from sales, income from FSA and subsidies, the revenue gap was worked out at Rs 1,193.90 crore.
In the ARR for 2015-16, UHBVN's power purchase cost constituted bulk of total expenses at Rs 10,434 crore. In 2014-15, power purchase cost was estimated at Rs 9,381 crore.
Haryana's total power subsidy for agriculture sector has been projected at Rs 5,623.50 crore for 2015-16 as against subsidy of Rs 5,284.10 crore for 2014-15 financial year, as per petition.

UHBVN has been allocated 71 per cent of total agriculture subsidy which comes at Rs 3,992.33 crore for 2015-16 while rest is allocated to another discom DHBVN.
The operation and maintenance expenditure comprises employee expenses, repair & maintenance and administration & general expenses are projected at Rs 1,166 crore while interest and finance charges are projected at Rs 2,019 crore for 2015-16.