No power tariff hike in U.P. for 5th year in a row

In a significant move, the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has kept the electricity tariff unchanged for all consumer categories for the fifth consecutive year in its tariff order for FY 2024-25.
The commission announced it here on Thursday deciding to maintain tariff stability addressing concerns over inflationary pressures on households and businesses. “There is no increase in tariff payable by any consumer category,” UPERC chairman Arvind Kumar said.
He said the state government recently took a policy decision for giving benefit of HV-2 industrial category rates to certain categories of IT/ITeS industries.
“An enabling provision has been created to implement the policy decision of the government,” he said. With this, the power tariff for IT industries becomes a bit lower than what they are paying at present. The last power tariff increase in Uttar Pradesh was made in 2019 when the UPERC announced an average hike of 11.69%.
The other key highlights include a reduction in the green energy tariff from ₹0.44 per unit to ₹0.36 per unit and extending the electric vehicle (EV) tariff rates for public charging stations to state road transport EV charging stations.
The Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) will now be charged the same tariff as Metro Rail Services. The commission has abolished charges of ₹50 related to disconnection and reconnection of smart meters. It has also not allowed any expenditure towards installation of smart meters to be passed on to the consumers.
The order also says that in accordance with Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, that in case of maximum demand exceeding the sanctioned load at least thrice in a financial year, the sanctioned load can be automatically increased by licensee from the first billing cycle of next financial year and the basis of such revision shared with consumer.
The commission also approved the UP Power Corporation Ltd’s (UPPCL) consolidated Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) of ₹96,225.02 crore for FY 2024-25, which includes the purchase of 147,904.69 million units (MU) of electricity.
However, with distribution losses capped at 13.09%, as per the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), and a subsidy of ₹17,511.88 crore from the state government, the commission determined a regulatory surplus of ₹1,944.72 crore, ensuring no need for a tariff hike.
Other consumer-centric decisions include allowing 3-5 KW contracted load users to apply for 3-phase connections, changes in Time of the Day (ToD) tariff slots during the summer, and permitting electronic bill delivery through email or WhatsApp.
Additionally, penalties have been introduced for single-point connection holders in multi-storied buildings who fail to disclose billing information transparently. The tariff order will come into effect seven days after its publication in leading newspapers.
Welcoming the order, UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avdhesh Kumar Verma claimed Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country for not increasing the power tariff for five years on an end.
“However, we will continue its fight for a reduction in tariffs considering the fact that a surplus of ₹1,944 crore was found this year, with a cumulative surplus of ₹33,122 crore. The commission should now reduce the tariff to compensate for the surplus revenue that the discoms have generated,” he demanded.