No hike! UP Electricity Regulatory Commission maintains power tariffs for 6th year – here's what changes for consumers

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has announced power tariffs for FY 2025-26, maintaining the same rates for the sixth year in a row, PTI reported.

In an official statement announced on Saturday, UPERC noted that all consumer categories will retain the current tariff structure.

The Commission also fixed a distribution loss trajectory, directing the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation to reduce overall losses from 13.78% in FY 24-25 to 10.74% by FY 29-30.

The UPERC noted that only Madhyanchal and Paschimanchal DISCOMs achieved their loss targets for FY 24-25, and Purvanchal DISCOM performed the worst.

What changes for the consumers now?

As per the current order, consumers are likely to benefit from the Green Energy Tariff, which has been extended to all consumers. The additional green energy surcharge has been decreased from ₹0.36/unit to ₹0.34/unit for high-voltage (HV) consumers and set at ₹0.17/unit for low-voltage (LV) consumers.

The time-of-day tariff categories and time blocks remain unchanged, while the cross-subsidy surcharge for open-access consumers has been rationalised.

Subsidies for lifeline consumers, rural scheduled metered households, and private tubewells will continue. Additionally, the Commission has instructed DISCOMs to gather PAN details from consumers to issue TDS certificates for interest earned on security deposits.

For FY 2025-26, the projected average supply cost is ₹8.18 per unit, with the average billing rate staying at ₹7.61 per unit.

The Commission observed numerous consumer complaints from residents of multi-storey buildings and townships about irregular billing and a lack of transparency with single-point connections. It announced that a separate consultation paper will be issued shortly to address these concerns.

The consultation paper will address concerns regarding billing and transparency in multi-storey buildings and townships, as highlighted during public hearings.

Why did UPERC not announce any tariff hike?

UPERC has approved a consolidated ARR of ₹1,10,993.33 crore for FY 2025-26, which is lower than the discoms' estimated requirement. Total revenue from the 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 stated that because UPPCL/DISCOMs are expected to have a regulatory surplus of ₹18,592.38 crore by April 1, 2025, there is no valid reason to impose a tariff increase on consumers, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.