The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has announced electricity tariffs for FY 2025-26, keeping the same rates for the sixth consecutive year, PTI reported.
In an official statement announced on Saturday, UPERC noted that all categories of consumers will retain the current tariff structure.
The commission also set a trajectory for distribution losses and directed Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation to bring down total losses from 13.78% in FY24-25 to 10.74% by FY29-30.
UPERC noted that only Madhyanchal and Paschimanchal DISCOMs achieved their loss targets for FY 24-25 and Purvanchal DISCOM was the worst performer.
What will change now for consumers?
According to the current order, consumers are likely to benefit from the green energy tariff, which has been extended to all consumers. The green energy surcharge has been reduced from ₹0.36/unit up to ₹0.34/unit for high voltage (HV) appliances and set at ₹0.17/unit for low voltage (LV) consumers.
Day tariff categories and time blocks remain unchanged, while the cross-subsidy surcharge for open access consumers has been rationalised.
Subsidies for lifeline consumers, regularly metered rural households and private tubes will continue. In addition, the Commission directed DISCOMs to collect PAN details from consumers to issue TDS certificates for interest earned on deposits.
For fiscal year 2025-2026, the projected average cost of delivery is ₹8.18 per unit while maintaining the average billing rate ₹7.61 per unit.
The Commission has noted numerous consumer complaints from residents of multi-storey buildings and urban areas about irregular billing and lack of transparency for single-point connections. It announced that a separate consultation paper would be issued shortly to address these concerns.
The consultation document will address concerns about billing and transparency in multi-storey buildings and boroughs, as highlighted during public hearings.
Why has UPERC not announced any tariff increase?
UPERC approved the consolidated ARR ₹1,10,993.33 crore for FY 2025-2026, which is less than the estimated requirement of discoms. The total income from current tariffs and government subsidies is likely to be around ₹1,03,283.29 crore, leading to ₹7,710.04 crore regulatory gap.
The Commission said that since UPPCL/DISCOMs are expected to have a regulatory surplus ₹18,592.38 crore by April 1, 2025, there is no valid reason to increase tariffs for consumers, according to a Hindustan Times report.
