Amid speculations of electricity tariff hike, the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Wednesday announced that there will be “no tariff hike for 2026-27 across all categories” as it decided to keep the tariff rate unchanged for the next financial year starting April 1.
2.22 lakh crores, the decision will provide a major relief to electricity consumers in Bihar.
The Commission rejected the proposal of both the Discoms – North Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd – to increase tariffs by 35 paise across categories in power charges.
The full commission comprising chairman Amir Subhani and two members Parshuram Singh Yadav and Arun Kumar Sinha announced the tariff orders for the financial year 2026-2027 on the basis of a number of petitions filed by both Discoms and other power companies like transmission company, Bihar Grid Company, SLDC and others.
“DISCOMs’ proposal to increase power charges by 35 paise per unit across all categories of consumers is not accepted. There will be no increase in electricity rates in the next financial year starting April 1,” Mr. Subhani told reporters during a press conference in Patna.
“After a thorough examination and prudent scrutiny of their proposals, the Commission approved a net Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) of ₹ 16555.69 crore with a revenue surplus of ₹ 2.69 crore for NBPDCL and a net ARR of ₹ 18908.97 crore with a surplus of ₹ 3555.69 crore to ₹ 355.69 crore with a revenue surplus of ₹ 1955.69 crore. ₹ crore revenue from the approved sale of electricity in FY 2026-27 and clearing the gap/surplus for FY 2024-25, including carrying charges,” it said, citing the utility’s financial situation and the need to avoid burdening consumers.
The new tariff rate will take effect from 1 April 2026 and will remain in force until 31 March 2027 or until the next customs regulation of the Commission.
It also introduced a uniform tariff rate for domestic consumers in both urban and rural areas, replacing the earlier system of differentiated rates for different slabs.
The Commission has accepted the proposal of both the DCOs to merge the two slabs into one category for DS-II (Urban Domestic Consumers), NDS-I (Rural Commercial Consumers) and NDS-II Consumers (Urban Commercial Consumers) and retain the power charge of the existing lower slabs, resulting in an effective tariff reduction (in terms of power charge) of ₹ 1.53 per unit for DS-II (Urban Domestic Consumers.42), NDS-I (urban domestic consumers.42) and ₹ 1.20 per unit for NDS-II (urban commercial consumers).
Currently, DS-II appliances are charged in two plates. They have to pay ₹7.42 per unit for the first 100 units and ₹8.95 per unit for more than 100 units. Similarly, NDS-I consumers pay ₹7.79 per unit for up to 100 units, while ₹8.21 per unit for more than 100 units. NDS-II consumers will pay Rs 7.73 per unit for the first 100 units and ₹ 8.93 per unit for more than 100 units.
However, now these two boards have been merged into a single category to make billing more transparent and understandable.
Mr. Subhani said about 27 million power consumers will benefit from the decision to merge the plates. He added that consumers will continue to benefit from the relief/exemption notified in the current duty rate (2025-26).
The tariff rates announced by the Commission do not include the subsidy announced every year by the State Government. The government is likely to announce electricity tariff subsidy for the next financial year 2026-2027 in the coming days.
The state government is giving 125 units of free electricity to 1.86 lakh power consumers in the state. Free electricity is provided under Mukhya Mantri Vidyut Upbhokta Sahayta Yojana.
The decision to provide free electricity on a subsidy basis of 125 units saved ₹550 per month to each urban consumer, while others consuming up to 125 units in rural areas saved ₹306 per month. The savings that an energy consumer would achieve on the basis of free electricity was calculated based on the electricity tariff announced for 2025-26 by BERC.
Published – 19 March 2026 08:11 IST
