AERC Raps APDCL for Violating FPPPA Rules, Allows Rs 215.30 Crore Surcharge Recovery Over 10 Months

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) has agreed to let Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) recover a Rs 215.30 crore Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPPA) surcharge in a phased manner from June 2026 to March 2027, which will help consumers avoid a sudden large increase in their electricity bills.

In its order on May 27, 2026, the Commission allowed APDCL to spread out the recovery of the March 2026 FPPPA surcharge over ten months, easing the rules set in Clause 4.3 of the AERC FPPPA Regulations, 2024.

Clause 4.3 of the AERC FPPPA Regulations, 2024, says, ‘The distribution licensee may decide to carry forward the fuel and power purchase price adjustment surcharge or a part thereof to the subsequent month in order to avoid any tariff shock to consumers, but the carry forward of the fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge over the previous month shall not exceed a maximum duration of two months, and such carry forward shall only be applicable if the total fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge for a billing month, including any carry forward of fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge over the previous month, exceeds twenty per cent of the variable component of the approved tariff.’

The Commission noted that APDCL had calculated a 33.40% FPPPA surcharge for March 2026.

According to APDCL’s petition, the sudden spike was mainly due to supplementary bills worth Rs 233.06 crore raised by major power generators and transmission utilities, including NTPC Limited, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and Central Transmission Utility of India Limited (CTUIL). These charges were linked to revised annual fixed charges, ash transportation expenses, hydro incentive payments, and interstate transmission adjustments.

APDCL had argued that recovering the full amount within the usual two-month timeline would cause severe tariff shock for consumers, requiring an increase of nearly Rs 1.49 per unit and Rs 1.28 per unit in successive months.

Under the approved phased recovery schedule, the surcharge will be spread across monthly electricity bills from June 2026 to March 2027, with unit-wise increases ranging between Rs 0.16 and Rs 0.28 per unit.

However, the Commission sharply criticised APDCL for failing to levy FPPPA charges from April 2025 to February 2026, during which around Rs 208 crore had accumulated.

AERC noted that APDCL violated the rules by failing to make monthly FPPPA adjustments and warned that the company might lose the chance to recover those missed costs in the future.

The Commission directed APDCL to ensure strict compliance with monthly FPPPA calculations, submit audited monthly recovery details for regulatory scrutiny during the annual true-up process, publish surcharge computations on its official billing platform, website and mobile app for greater transparency and clearly mention applicable surcharge details in consumer bills.

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