Maintenance charges in flats to go up after power tariff hike

CHENNAI: Consumers living in apartments are likely to face a steep increase in maintenance charges, thanks to Tangedco’s creation of a new tariff category for common service at a charge of Rs 8 per unit and a fixed charge of Rs 100 per kilowatt per month.

Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji on Monday said to avoid duplication of tariff subsidy, the separate tariff of low tension (1-D) is to be introduced for command supply for lighting, lift and water supply. “The gymnasium, swimming pools, sewage treatment plant, water treatment plant and fire hydrant system gym in the residential complexes are brought under common supply tariff instead of commercial,” he announced.

K Arun, a resident of Porur, said his flat with six residential units consumes 200 to 250 units for the common lighting and water pump and the electric charge would vary from Rs 150 to Rs 380.

“If we are going to be charged Rs 8 per unit, we will end up paying about Rs 1,800 for consuming even 100 units and fixed charges of Rs 200 for two months,” he said, adding that they would be forced to hike the maintenance charge to Rs 750 or Rs 1000 per month from existing Rs 500 to pay the bill and domestic help charges for cleaning.

Even as the residents of multistorey residential complexes expected the common supply tariff to be on the lower side than the commercial, Tangedco has fixed a higher tariff of Rs 8 per unit. “The common supply tariff is going to hit hard for the middle class and salaried people living in the flats in the city and its suburbs in terms of increased maintenance cost apart from the hike in their residential electricity charges. The proposed hike is a double whammy for those living in flats,” said Kannan Balachandran, secretary of T Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association.

‘Additional burden on domestic consumers’

“The proposed electricity charge hike is a double whammy for those living in the flats,” said Kannan Balachandran, secretary of T Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association. He urged the State government to reconsider the tariff hike.

Citizen’s Contribution in Democracy founder S Neelakanta Pillai said it was a big blunder on the part of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) to allow the collection of commercial charges in its 2017 order for common supply from the multistorey residential complexes, as it was purely used by the residents for domestic purpose. .

“Rather than correcting the blunder, Tangedco has now classified all the flats with common service connection under a new higher tariff category. This will be an additional burden on domestic consumers, whose are already hit badly by high cost of living,” Pillai added.v