No Proposals To Increase Electricity Tariffs

Chairman and Managing Director of the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) Musharraf Faruqui today announced that there were no plans to increase electricity tariffs for the upcoming fiscal year.

This decision comes amid rising power demands due to the intense summer heat across various districts in Telangana.

During a public hearing conducted by the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC), he said that the State's peak power demand had reached a record 17,162 MW at 4:39 pm on March 20, and that the TGSPDCL's daily demand (the southern region's discom, which includes Hyderabad) had peaked at 11,017 MW on the same day.

Faruqui said that maintaining current electricity rates would alleviate financial strain on the general public. The State's power distribution companies (discoms) had made proposals to increase tariffs across various consumer categories for 2024-25 to make up for a revenue shortfall of Rs 13,022 crore, but the State government had firmly rejected them, he said. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had directed the discoms to maintain the current rates and submit alternative financial plans to the TGERC, he said.

The TGERC thus rejected the tariff hike proposals, providing relief to consumers. The Commission approved only fixed charges for domestic users consuming above 800 units a month, which would give barely Rs 30 crore, Faruqui said.

Deputy Energy Secretary S Priyadarshini, representing the State government before the TGERC, confirmed that the government would provide necessary subsidies to cover the discoms' revenue shortfall, thereby maintaining stable electricity rates for consumers.