In a significant relief for consumers across Uttar Pradesh, the state's electricity regulatory authority has decided to maintain current power tariffs for the sixth consecutive financial year. The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) announced its decision for FY 2025-26, keeping electricity rates unchanged across all consumer categories.
Key Decisions and Consumer Benefits
The regulatory body has introduced several measures that will directly benefit electricity consumers. The Green Energy Tariff has been extended to all consumers, making renewable energy more accessible. Additionally, the commission has reduced the additional green energy surcharge from ₹0.36 per unit to ₹0.34 per unit for high-voltage consumers while setting it at ₹0.17 per unit for low-voltage consumers.
Time-of-day tariff categories and time blocks remain unchanged, providing consistency for consumers who plan their electricity usage around peak and off-peak hours. The cross-subsidy surcharge for open-access consumers has been rationalized, potentially making electricity more affordable for certain consumer segments.
Distribution Loss Reduction Targets
UPERC has set an ambitious trajectory for reducing distribution losses across the state. The commission has directed the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation to cut overall losses from 13.78% in FY 2024-25 to 10.74% by FY 2029-30. This significant reduction target aims to improve the efficiency of power distribution in the state.
The commission noted that among the distribution companies, only Madhyanchal and Paschimanchal DISCOMs achieved their loss targets for FY 2024-25. Purvanchal DISCOM was identified as the worst performer in terms of meeting loss reduction goals.
Addressing Consumer Concerns and Future Plans
The regulatory commission acknowledged receiving numerous complaints from residents of multi-storey buildings and townships regarding irregular billing and lack of transparency with single-point connections. In response, UPERC announced that a separate consultation paper will be issued shortly to specifically address these concerns.
Subsidies for vulnerable consumer groups will continue, including lifeline consumers, rural scheduled metered households, and private tubewells. The commission has also instructed DISCOMs to collect PAN details from consumers to facilitate the issuance of TDS certificates for interest earned on security deposits.
For the upcoming financial year, the projected average supply cost is ₹8.18 per unit, while the average billing rate will remain at ₹7.61 per unit. The commission approved a consolidated aggregate revenue requirement of ₹1,10,993.33 crore for FY 2025-26, which is lower than the discoms' estimated requirement.
Total revenue from current tariffs and government subsidies is projected to be approximately ₹1,03,283.29 crore, resulting in a regulatory gap of ₹7,710.04 crore. However, UPERC justified its decision not to increase tariffs by pointing to the expected regulatory surplus of ₹18,592.38 crore that UPPCL/DISCOMs are projected to have by April 1, 2025.
