Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has gifted people on the occasion of Dussehra Diwali festival to 3.48 crore electricity consumers of the state by not increasing the electricity rates even in the year 2024-25.
Even in the era of continuous inflation for the last 05 years, the electricity rates have not been increased and the tariff is also the same. Consumers of all categories of the state will get its benefit. With this arrangement, Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country. This year the electricity rates have been determined on the basis of 10.67 percent line losses.
Giving information regarding electricity rates, Urban Development and Energy Minister of Uttar Pradesh, AK Sharma said that in view of the interests of the consumers, the Yogi government has not increased the electricity rates since the year 2019-20, but electricity rates have been reduced in some areas.
This will provide economic relief and stability to the low income group and small businessmen. Electricity rates have been reduced in this area to promote the IT industry in the state, set up startups and increase investment of outside companies.
Similarly, the current tariff applicable for public electric vehicle stations for charging electric vehicles has been made permissible for state transport as well. This initiative has been taken to promote the electric mobility agenda of the state. This will make ‘electric vehicle’ charging accessible and affordable for public transport services and will promote environmentally friendly transport.
The Energy Minister informed that the additional green energy tariff payable by consumers consuming renewable energy from environmental point of view has been reduced from Rs 0.44 per unit to Rs 0.36 per unit. The fixed rates for giving green energy certificate to industries have been reduced by 15 to 20 percent. The rates of entrepreneurs who export to foreign countries and take advantage of green tariff to get green energy certificate will be reduced.
Also, the input cost of entrepreneurs who are taking advantage of this will now decrease. This will increase the inclination of consumers towards green energy. Also, there will be benefits in environmental protection and carbon emissions will be reduced. This reduction in tariff will benefit all those industries who want to consume green energy and are environmentally conscious consumers and want to reduce their carbon footprint.
AK Sharma informed that the electricity rates for Regional Rapid Transit System have been made equal to the rates of metro rail services. This will ensure affordable and consistent pricing for public transport systems. This decision will benefit the expansion and development of efficient mass transit network within the state. With the aim of promoting digital billing, consumers have been provided the option of e-mail, WhatsApp or other electronic means to receive electricity bills. Also, it will be beneficial for those who live in remote areas.
The rates of cross subsidy surcharge for open access consumers have been kept unchanged at the current level. This will help industries to opt for open access and promote competition in the electricity market, which will encourage economic development. As per the currently prevalent rule, the facility of three-phase connection is applicable for consumers with more than 05 kW of connected load.
Now it has been decided to provide three-phase connection to consumers of 03 to 05 KVA load. This will improve the quality and reliability of electricity supply to consumers. Similarly, the fee of Rs 50 charged for connecting or disconnecting the smart meter connection has been abolished. He said that for the benefit of consumers, the state government has increased the subsidy by Rs 03 thousand crores this year to Rs 17,511 crores.
He said that with the blessings of the Prime Minister and under the leadership of the Chief Minister, this is being possible due to the hard work, efforts and competent management of the electricity workers. He has appealed to all the consumers to deposit their electricity bills on time, so that there is uninterrupted power supply in the state. He has given instructions to ensure uninterrupted power supply to consumers during the upcoming festivals of Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath festival. He congratulated all the electricity consumers of the state for not increasing the electricity rates.
