123Pune.com

PUNE
: Commercial consumers and industries in Pune urban circle who consume more than 300 units per month will have to bear a significantly high
reliability charge of 80 paise to Rs 1.30 per unit if rate for securing additional power to keep Pune free from power cuts is revised from Rs 8.54 to Rs 10 per unit as proposed by state energy minister Dilip Walse-Patil on Sunday.

Currently, with the purchase rate fixed at Rs 8.54, consumers using more than 300 units per month are paying a reliability charge of 48 paise per unit to keep the city free from load-shedding.

Experts and consumer organisations are wondering whether the industry, which is already reeling under the economic slowdown and taking up cost-cutting measures, will be willing to bear this additional burden.

“But, before that, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) will have to decide on a priority basis whether Pune needs additional power of 150 MW — as estimated by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) in April this year — or the revised estimate of 304 MW given in August,” said Pradeep Bhargava, chairman of the Maharashtra council of the Confederation of Indian Industry, and Shantanu Dixit of Prayas on Monday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Pay_more_for_no_load-shedding/ar...