Your electricity bill could soon increase even if you are using the same amount of power.
This, after the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) granted permission to five electricity supply companies to collect fuel adjustment charges (FAC) in their bills.
The companies include BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited) which will collect 14 paisa per unit, HESCOM (Hubballi Electricity Supply Company Limited) which will collect 8 paisa per unit, MESCOM (Mangalore Electricity Supply Company) will collect 4 paisa per unit, CESC (Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited) and GESCOM (Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited) which will both collect 5 paisa per unit as FAC, according to a report by Deccan Herald.
FAC is the amount applied on bills of utilities based on the varying prices of fuel or coal. In this case, the amount is being increased due to varying costs borne by distributors between April and June.
Electricity supply companies are allowed to make changes in the variable cost of power on a quarterly basis and it usually occurs due to a hike in the price of fuel. The charges are passed on by electricity generation companies to distributors who in turn charge consumers.
Among the electricity supply companies, MESCOM has made the least increase in FAC. The figures are calculated by the companies using their own formulae.
This is the second time that power tariffs are being raised by BESCOM since the start of 2017, after 15 paisa per unit charge was levied between July 2017 and March 2018. FAC was not levied between April and September this year and will now once again be levied from October to December.
BESCOM facilitates electricity supply in eight districts of Karnataka – Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Chikkaballapura, Kolar, Davanagere, Tumkur, Chitradurga and Ramanagara.
The amount charged will be listed in the electricity bills for consumers to take note.