By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 8, 2016 : The cabinet chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday approved the amendment to the Odisha Electricity (Duty) Act, 1961 to help the state generate additional Rs 90 crore per annum.

Chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said as per the new amendment to the Act, a ceiling of Rs 2 has been kept for consumption of Captive Power Plants (CPPs) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) while a provision for an ad valorem of 15% to the Electricity Duty has also been made. However, there is no change in the rate for domestic consumption as the ceiling has been fixed at 40 paise per unit, he told media persons after the cabinet meeting.

For the first time, the the state government had brought in comprehensive amendment to the Odisha Electricity (Duty) Act, originally formulated in 1961, in 1986. However, after the Indian Electricity Act 2003 came into effect, there was a need for more changes in the Act.

He said the State Cabinet had earlier passed the amendment to the Act and had tabled it in the State Assembly. “But as revenue implications are involved in the Act, we have passed it in today’s Cabinet meeting as an ordinance. The amendment will be implemented after approval from the governor,” Padhi said.

He said the state government has set a target for collection of additional revenue of Rs 90 crore per annum (Rs 7.5 crore per month) following the amendment to the Act. Since four months of the current fiscal have already passed, the revised revenue target for the remaining eight months of the current financial year would be Rs 60 crore.

He also said the charge for Electricity Duty on generator set has been extended from 10 kva to 50 kva capacity.

By virtue of another amendment to the Act, consumers will now have a three-tier dispute resolution mechanism if they find there is any anomaly in the power tariff.