More than 31.5 lakh users of Adani Electricity in Mumbai suburbs will face electricity tariff hikes ranging from 70 paise to Rs 1.70 per unit from May 1, 2024. According to the Times of India report, this increase is due to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) allowing the company to recover the Fuel Adjustment Charge (FAC) in power bills. The hike in Adani bills will be valid from May to August this year for FAC recovery, as per the permission given by MERC.
The FAC, which is levied on electricity procured in the past, has been adjusted from 70 paise per unit to Rs 1.70 per unit for residential consumers, depending on the consumption category. The hike will be over Rs 1.25 per unit for industry, commercial, and railways consumers.
In its FAC submission for July 2023 to December 2023, Adani Electricity had urged the regulatory commission to allow cumulative recovery of FAC for that period and recovery of revised FAC from April 2024 at FAC ceiling rate.
A power expert explained that due to world market dynamics, the prices of fuels used to produce electricity, such as coal, gas, and oil, can always change, impacting the FAC levied on consumers. However, the FAC could have been applied much earlier and recovered slowly, reducing the impact on consumers.