Power Surge: Jharkhand Hikes Electricity Tariffs by 6.12%

The Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission has declared a 6.12% increase in power tariffs, taking effect from the onset of the coming financial year. This decision impacts both rural and urban domestic power users, with new rates set at Rs 7.20 and Rs 7.40 per unit, respectively, according to Justice (Retd) Navneet Kumar, chairman of the commission.

The commission decided against the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited's proposed 59% hike, settling for a more moderate increase. Commercial consumers face a raise of 50 paise in rural and 60 paise in urban areas, while agricultural users remain unaffected. For public electric vehicle charging stations, tariffs are set at Rs 7 per unit during solar hours and Rs 8.70 per unit for other times.

Rebates have been introduced to incentivize timely payments and encourage switching to prepaid smart meters. Moreover, tariffs for rooftop solar installations remain stable, and a distribution loss of 13% has been approved, significantly lower than previous loss figures proposed by JBVNL for the upcoming years.