A new power tariff regime, with separate charges for peak and off-peak hours, is on the cards.
The concept is one of the new approaches being debated by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, and was proposed in its discussion paper on the 'terms and conditions of tariff' for the period starting April 1, 2004.
Since the CERC tariff order pertains to central generating stations and inter-state private projects, the proposal might not have an immediate bearing on retail consumer tariffs.
But if differential generation tariffs came into effect, retail tariffs would also have to move to a similar tariff regime over a period of time, government officials explained.
Fixed and variable charges for central generation companies are now evenly distributed for 24 hours.
As per the new proposal, fixed charges will be different for peak and off-peak periods. For instance, if three hours in a day are designated as peak hours, fixed charges per hour will roughly be around 2.33 times those for off-peak hours.
Fixed charges form a major chunk of generation tariffs and include cost of servicing capital (equity and loan), as well as depreciation, operation and maintenance costs.
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