The sale of electricity by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has consistently gone up post the COVID-19 pandemic years, the data provided by the company has shown.
In the Financial Year (FY) of 2022-23, Bescom sold over 29,000 million units (MU) of power, which is even more than the 27,849 MU it had sold during the pre-pandemic period (FY 2019 – 20). Until November of FY 2023-24, Bescom has already sold 23,665 MU electricity.
Gruha Jyothi scheme
The growth of sales has been observed in both high-tension (HT) and low-tension (LT) categories, with the latter being the major contributor. In FY 2020-21, the company had sold 18,464 MU of power to LT consumers while in 2022-23, the sales touched 20,488 MU. According to a senior official in Bescom, the LT numbers are expected to rise further owing to the introduction of the Gruha Jyothi scheme.
Even in HT sales, from 6,245 MU in 2020-21 to 8,845 MU in 2022-23. Even in FY 2023-24, the sales had touched 6,593 MU by November itself. Over the years, Bescom has been taking several steps to keep HT consumers from choosing open-access suppliers.
Energy charges
One such scheme is the Discounted Energy Rate Scheme (DERS), which encourages industries to use more power by providing it at a discounted price. During the tariff revision in May 2023, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) reduced the energy charges under DERS from ₹6 per unit to ₹5 per unit.
Senior officials from the Finance Department of Bescom said the DERS scheme was one of the main reasons for HT sales increasing over the years, along with the good health of the economy.
“After the pandemic, as the revival of the economy began, more industries and commercial establishments, large buildings are up and running. With our Time of Day (ToD) tariff system and other benefitting schemes, these new establishments chose Bescom instead of open access and thus accelerated our sales,” an official said.
Cutting revenue deficit
The increasing sales of the electricity utility, which is expected to continue even in FY 2024 – 25, is also expected to help in bringing down the revenue deficit in the upcoming years. “Better sales, especially in HT, will result in a better Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) which in turn helps in bridging the revenue gap,” a senior official noted.
Bescom had asked for an ARR of ₹62,133.47 crore, out of which KERC approved an ARR of ₹58,109.95 Crore during the tariff revision in 2023.
