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The Uttar Pradesh government has implemented the Multi Year Distribution Tariff Regulations 2025 regarding electricity rates, which will remain in force for the next 5 years i.e. till the year 2029. A notification was also issued by the Uttar Pradesh government on the recommendation of the Electricity Regulatory Commission. It is believed that while power companies will benefit by about Rs 4 thousand crore annually, the impact of expensive electricity will be seen on the pockets of electricity consumers.
Increase up to 20 percent
Under the new regulation, the Regulatory Commission will soon start its process of fixing electricity rates for the year 2025-26. It is believed that electricity rates can be increased by up to 20 percent due to the loss of Rs 13 thousand crore shown by the power companies in ARR (Annual Revenue Requirement) from the current electricity rate.
In fact, in the ARR of more than Rs 1 lakh crore filed by the power companies with the commission, purchase of electricity worth about Rs 70 thousand crore is proposed. Along with this, the loss of companies due to power theft etc. has also been proposed to be 13.82 percent under RDSS. Power companies have proposed about Rs 11,800 crore in ARR for administrative and general expenses including operational and maintenance expenses.
Consumer Council is protesting
In such a situation, the Consumer Council said, the way changes have been made in this regulation under the rule made by the Central Government, it will cause a lot of loss to the electricity consumers of the state. Further said that this has opened a new way for the private houses to benefit in every situation, but the Consumer Council will not let it succeed.
Awadhesh Kumar Verma, President of Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Consumer Council and member of the State Advisory Committee, said that at present the annual revenue requirement of 2025-26 filed by the power companies in the Electricity Regulatory Commission is about 1 lakh 1000 crores and power purchase of 70 thousand crores is proposed, distribution losses are proposed to be 13.82 percent under the RDSS estimate.
Further, Awadhesh Kumar Verma said that in the year 2025-26, out of the approximately 11800 crores proposed only for maintenance and operator, repair and maintenance and administrative and general expenses, about 4500 would have been cut under the previous regulations, but with the standard that has been set now, not more than 2000 crores will be cut. In the year 2024-25, the Electricity Regulatory Commission had approved only 6478 crores out of the approximately 10789 crores proposed by the power companies in this item. There was a cut of about 4300 crores.
The public may have to suffer
Similarly, if we look at the tariff order of the year 2023-24, the Electricity Regulatory Commission had issued electricity rates at 10.67% distribution loss, but the Electricity Regulatory Commission, while approving the distribution loss of RDSS in the year 2024-25, issued electricity rates at 13.09% distribution loss and this time the Power Corporation has proposed distribution losses of 13.82, in this way the Power Corporation will also get a profit of about 2000 crores in this item.
All in all, with this new regulation, the Power Corporation and the power companies were to benefit the most in the amount of about 3500 thousand crores to 4000 crores in the item of distribution losses including repair and maintenance expenses in operation and maintenance, that is, the power companies will get a head start on the electricity consumers of the state and the brunt of which will have to be borne by the people of the state in the form of increase in electricity rates.
It is a different matter that the consumers of the state are paying around Rs 33122 crore surplus to the power companies and on that basis, there can be no legal increase in power rates for the next 5 years, but the private houses of the country and the power companies of the state together are definitely preparing to put the burden on around 3 crore 45 lakh power consumers of the state through some backdoor with the Electricity Regulatory Commission, but the Consumer Council will not let them succeed in public interest.
