No Hike in Telangana Electricity Tariffs for 2025-26, Announces TGERC

In a major relief to consumers, the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) announced on Monday that there will be no increase in electricity tariffs for any category of consumers in the financial year 2025-26.

This decision follows petitions filed by the Southern and Northern Power Distribution Companies (TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL) on January 28, under Section 64 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

Approved Revenue Requirement Lower Than Proposed

The DISCOMs had projected an Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) of Rs.65,849.74 crore. However, the Commission approved a reduced ARR of Rs.58,628.09 crore after careful review.

TGERC Chairman, Dr Justice Devaraju Nagarjun, stated that the Commission uses its own methodology to derive realistic estimates, noting that DISCOMs often overstate agricultural electricity consumption.

Warning of Future Power Shortages

Dr Nagarjun also issued a cautionary note, warning that if electricity consumption continues to rise, Telangana could face a power shortage by 2030. He appealed to consumers to use electricity judiciously and indicated that in the future, tariff hikes or a greater shift towards renewable energy might become necessary. However, he emphasized that increasing tariffs would heavily burden the general public.

Revenue Gap and Other Approvals

Regarding financials, TGERC approved a revenue gap of:

• Rs.13,122.04 crore for DISCOMs
• Rs.377.37 crore for the Central Electricity Supply Scheme (CESS)

This is significantly lower than the proposed gaps of Rs.20,151 crore and Rs.446.21 crore, respectively.

Boost for EV Charging Infrastructure

In a move to support electric vehicle adoption, TGERC approved an increase in the contracted load limit for LT-IX EV charging stations from 56 kW/75 HP to 150 kW/201 HP.

Additionally, Grid Support Charges were set at Rs.18.48 per kW per month, lower than the initially proposed Rs.20.04 per kW per month.