Steep power bill increase comes as shock for Pkl residents
Residents of Panchkula have received electricity bills showing increase of 100% to 400% for the period from mid-April to mid-May, compared to the previous year, despite minimal changes in unit consumption.
While the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission implemented a rate increase of 20 to 30 paise per kWh/kVAh for domestic and industrial categories, an analysis of various bills reveals disproportionate charges despite marginal increase in consumption. This has had a particularly adverse effect on middle-class families, the economically disadvantaged and pensioners.
S K Nayar, Citizens' Welfare Association president from Sector 15, experienced a 145% increase in charges while maintaining similar consumption.
His bill rose to Rs 2,042 for 210 units, compared to Rs 833 for 216 units in April 2024.
"It is a loot of public money, and a wrong step was taken. Earlier, there used to be a minimum charge, and even if you went out of the city for a few months, the bill amount would not pinch you. But they are imposing fixed charges, which have burned a hole in the pockets of the common man," he rued.
Sector 25 resident Mohit Gupta received a bill of Rs 5,641 for 668.25 units, while last April's bill was Rs 2,673 for 496.23 units.
Despite lower consumption previously, this year's rate increase has resulted in substantially higher charges.
Sant Singh Gill, former RWA president of Sector 25, saw his bill increase to Rs 3,745, as compared to Rs 1,286 last year, representing a 191% rise in charges against a 47% increase in consumption.
Analysis shows varied impacts: Cases with abnormal consumption increases saw 430% higher bills, while 38% consumption increases resulted in 111% higher bills.
Even with 21% reduced consumption, bills increased by 87%.
Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVNL) chief engineer (Operations) Chandan Singh said, "The bills have been generated as per HERC's current rates. Some may have felt bills are higher because consumption has increased. As far as fixed charges are concerned, it is a certain amount for certain uses."
The 2025-26 electricity order confirms rate increases of 20 to 30 paise per kWh/kVAh for both domestic and industrial categories in Haryana.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
9 minutes ago
- Time of India
Nine new DMDs at SBI, 28 CGMs promoted in annual exercise
State Bank of India (SBI), the country's biggest government asset by market value, has promoted nine chief general managers (CGMs) as deputy managing directors (DMDs) in an annual exercise, people familiar with the information said. As many as 28 people have been elevated to the CGM level, similar to the 27 promoted last year, Four out of nine DMDs have already been posted to their respective positions, while five others are waiting for the final order of the department where they will take charge. SBI has 24 DMDs, each handling remits ranging from corporate banking, markets and treasury, recovery, retail, compliance, finance, operations, etc. The names of the new DMDs have already been updated at the bank's website. Rajeev Kumar, who was CGM at the bank's international banking group (IBG) in SBI's Mumbai headquarters, has already taken charge as DMD internal audit at the bank's Hyderabad office. SBI Card CEO, Salila Pande, has also been promoted as DMD and will continue with her current responsibilities she assumed in April. Ramesh Srinivas Rao has taken charge as DMD commercial clients group I (CCG I) from Gulshan Malik, who retired on May 31. Satyendra Kumar Singh has taken charge of CCG II, which was headed by Amitava Chatterjee, who took over as J&K Bank CEO at the end of December 2024. Both CCG I and II services large and medium sized companies (except conglomerates), out of the bank's head office in Mumbai. Rajesh Kumar, who was heading the bank's Hyderabad circle, will take over as DMD, agriculture and SME in the bank's corporate headquarters in Mumbai from Surender Rana, who retires in July. Other CGMs promoted to DMD position are Arvind Kumar Singh, Chander Shekhar Sharma, Parminder Singh and Anindya Sunder Paul. They await portfolios and will take over based on retirements or transfers. The DMDs typically report to managing directors (MDs). SBI has four MDs, each handling corporate banking and subsidiaries, retail and operations, risk, compliance and stressed assets recovery and international banking, markets and technology. The MD portfolios are distributed according to the discretion of the SBI chairman. SBI is India's largest lender with Rs 66.79 lakh crore in total assets, much higher than Rs 39.10 lakh crore of total assets of HDFC Bank , its nearest rival, as of March 2025. With more than 22,500 branches and 63,580 ATMs across India, it has the widest network in the country. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Lower wage growth impacting consumption; tax cuts and rate cuts tools to spur growth: Report
Weakening wage and job growth cycle is impacting consumption sentiment , and tax cuts and rate cuts will help accelerate momentum, according to a report by ICICI Bank Global Markets. The report highlights that wage growth for listed Indian companies nearly halved in the financial year (FY) 2025, slowing to 7.5 per cent from an average of 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) between FY22 and FY24, impacting consumption. The deceleration in wage growth can be attributed to the tepid demand and global economic uncertainty. The report adds that the slowdown, coupled with high inflation and elevated interest rates, has eroded consumers' discretionary income, particularly in urban areas. Spending across sectors has dampened. "Lower interest rates should lead to further recovery in consumption as repo-linked loans get repriced lower and reduce the interest outgo for consumers," according to ICICI Bank Global Markets report . "We believe further monetary support is required to spur consumption when inflation is easing," it said. Backing its assertion, the report added that Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sales in urban centres are trailing rural markets. In contrast, passenger vehicle sales growth has sharply decelerated to 4.5 per cent in FY25 from 8.8 per cent the previous year. On the job growth front, the report added that once a strong hiring engine, the IT sector continues to grapple with demand challenges from tech disruptions, monetary tightening, and trade volatility. Net hiring peaked at 293,000 in FY22 and saw a net contraction of 70,000 by FY24. The Indian economy grew by 6.5 per cent in real terms in the recently concluded financial year 2024-25, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's official data. While the economic growth was 7.4 per cent in the January-March quarter (Q4) of FY25. This was a sharp rise from the 6.2 per cent recorded in the previous quarter. Given the underlying weakness in urban demand , the government announced an income tax relief of Rs 1 trillion in the Union Budget 2025-26. The other factors favouring a consumption recovery are lower food inflation as well as the recent uptick seen in GST collections. In the last two months we have seen a visible acceleration in GST collections, with gross GST revenues increasing by 16.4 per cent YoY in May and 12.6 per cent YoY in April, respectively.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Apollo Green Energy posts ₹44.36 cr profit, recommends 15% dividend
Apollo Green Energy on Thursday posted a net profit of Rs 44.36 crore in the 2024-25 financial year. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 29.57 crore 2023-24. According to a company statement, its revenue stood at Rs 1,171 crore in 2023-24 compared to Rs Rs 726.16 crore in 2024-25. The company recommended a 15 per cent dividend for shareholders for FY25, it said. With over 400 MW of solar capacity under its portfolio across multiple states, the company is targeting an EPC order book of 1 GW by 2026. Apollo Green Energy Chairman & Managing Director Raaja Kanwar said in the statement, "We are focusing on expanding our EPC pipeline and increasing our presence in emerging areas like IPP and energy storage." With a growing order book of over Rs 3,000 crore, it stated that Apollo Green is positioning itself as a reliable player in India's clean energy space.
