Monthly EB billing may not benefit consumers

CHENNAI: Will electricity bills reduce when the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation adopts monthly billing from the existing bi-monthly bill for domestic services? While social media and even political leaders believe so, it may not happen going by the tariff order issued by Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission.

As per the TNERC order, the energy consumption slabs for domestic consumers would come down by half if the billing period is reduced from bi-monthly to monthly. Without subsidy, the minimum tariff for the bi-monthly period would be Rs 4.50 per unit for consumption between 0 to 400 units, while the maximum will be Rs 11 per unit for above 1,001 units. In the monthly billing cycle, the minimum will be Rs 4.50 per unit for 0-200 units while the maximum is Rs 11 per unit for above 501 units.

According to the government order issued by the electricity department in September 2022 following tariff revision, the subsidy would be provided for the first 100 units for all consumption and Rs 2.25 per unit for 101-200 units if the consumption is less than 500 units.

Coimbatore Consumer Cause secretary K Kathirmathiyon said monthly billing would not benefit the consumers as much as it helps the utility. “There will not be any additional subsidy or saving for the consumers due to monthly billing. However, Tangedco will be able to recover it at the earliest if it adopts a monthly system. In bi-monthly billing, Tangedco will recover costs after 80 days, including the 20-day grace period. In the monthly billing, it will be 40 days,” he pointed out.

The utility has been citing manpower shortage for the bi-monthly billing and assured to switch to the monthly cycle after the installation of smart meters.