Power tariff to drop from April 1, domestic users to pay Re 1 less per unit

Guwahati, Mar 26:  The power tariff rate for all categories of consumers in the state is going to be slashed from April 1.

Addressing a press conference at his office on Tuesday, Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) chairperson Kumar Sanjay Krishna informed that for all four categories of consumers, including Jeevan Dhara, Domestic A and B and high tension (HT) domestic, the energy charges will be reduced by Re 1 per kWh.

Similarly, the energy charges will be reduced by Rs. 0.25 per kWh in all other categories of customers.

"Apart from reducing the energy charges in all the categories, no changes have been made in the fixed charges of any category of consumer," Krishna said.

The AERC today issued multiyear tariff orders by revising the tariffs of APDCL, APGCL, AEGCL and SLDC with effect from April 1. Earlier, in December 2024, APDCL, APGCL, AEGCL and SLDC had filed petitions for approval of truing up for the 2023-24 financial year, annual performance review for the 2024-25 financial year, determination of aggregate revenue requirement for 2025-26 to 2029-30 financial years and tariff for the 2025-26 financial year.

Krishna stated that in its petition, APDCL prayed before the AERC for approval of truing up a gap of Rs 543.38 crore, including a carrying cost of Rs 103.34 crore for the 2022-23 financial year. APDCL claimed an Annual Performance Review gap of Rs. 109.57 crore for the 2023-24 financial year and a surplus of Rs. 185.98 crore for the 2025-26 financial year.

It has proposed to continue with the prevalent tariff approved by the Commission for the 2024-25 financial year, without any hike for all categories of consumers for the 2025-26 financial year.

"During the tariff determination process, objections and suggestions were invited from the stakeholders on the petitions. A public hearing was also held on March 12. Altogether, 12 respondents submitted their views and comments on the tariff petitions. Thereafter, the Commission has approved an overall generation tariff of Rs 5.96 per kWh for the 2025-26 financial year, based on the latest fuel costs. Similarly, a transmission tariff of Rs 0.42 per kWh and SLDC charges of Rs 108.97 per MW per day have been approved for 2025-26," Krishna said.

He noted that the Commission has undertaken a prudent check of the submissions, and utmost care has been taken to protect the interest of the consumers as well as utilities in arriving at its decision.

"The Commission, after taking into consideration the submissions made by the petitioner, objections and suggestions received from respondents and stakeholders and all other relevant materials on record, has arrived at a surplus of Rs 911.28 crore. Therefore, the Commission has reduced the category-wise tariffs approved in the tariff order for the 2024-25 financial year, without any changes in fixed or demand charges," he stated.

The AERC chairperson further stated that the average cost of supply for the 2025-26 financial year works out to Rs 8.72 per kWh, as against APDCL’s proposal of Rs 9.70 per kWh.

The approved average cost of supply for the 2024-25 financial year was Rs 9.55 per kWh. Therefore, there is a reduction of Rs 0.83 per kWh in the average cost of supply. Apart from this, the green energy tariff has been determined as Re 1 per kWh for 2025-26, in addition to the category-wise fixed or demand and energy charges.

The Commission has also approved a single-part tariff for LT EV charging stations at an average cost of supply of Rs 8.72 per kWh and a single-part tariff for 1 HT EV charging station at Rs 8.35 per kWh, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Power.

By

Staff Reporter