Assam: APDCL Mulling Changeover to Time-of-Day Tariff in FY 2025-26

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Discom Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd. (APDCL) is planning to change the tariff structure for the financial year 2025-26 and has introduced a Time-of-Day (ToD) tariff. In a petition to the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) regarding the proposed tariff for FY 2025–26, APDCL has proposed a three-category tariff structure, with Night hours, Solar hours, and Peak hours, with different tariffs during different periods of the day.

This will mark a departure from the previous tariff structure, which had only Peak and Off-peak hours. The Peak hours were from 5 pm to 10 pm, while the Off-peak hours lasted from 10 pm to 5 pm.

APDCL aims to change the tariff structure to Night hours (from 12 midnight to 6 am), Solar hours (6 am to 5 pm), and Peak hours (5 pm to 12 midnight). The peak hours have been increased by two hours.

In the proposed tariff for FY 2025–26, the APDCL, in its petition to AERC, has introduced a Time-of-Day (ToD) tariff, which it says is in compliance with the directive issued by the Commission in its tariff order dated June 27, 2024. This ToD tariff is applicable to all consumer categories with a connected load exceeding 10 kW, where smart meters have been installed.

APDCL, in its petition, has proposed a tariff structure for FY 2025-26 such that the tariffs of all categories are within +/-20% of the Average Cost of Supply (ACoS), while at the same time ensuring that no category is faced with a tariff shock.

In the proposal part of its petition, APDCL proposes to continue with the prevalent tariff structure approved by the Commission vide its order dated June 27, 2024, without any hike for all categories of consumers for FY 2025-26. However, in the table provided in the proposal, changes in the tariff structure are evident. For example, for domestic-B consumers with above 5 kW to 30 kW connections in the Low Tension (LT) category, the present Energy Charges is given as Rs 8.74 per unit. In the proposed tariff structure, the tariff during Night hours will be Rs 8.94, during Solar hours Rs 6.99, and during Peak hours it will be Rs 9.62.

For commercial consumers with a connected load above 0.5 kW to 30 kW, the existing tariff is Rs 9.19 per unit. In the proposed tariff structure, the tariff during Night hours will be Rs 9.39, during Solar hours Rs 7.35, and during Peak hours it will be Rs 11.02.

Also, under the category of General Purpose Supply up to 30 kW, for government primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools, the present tariff is Rs 8.14 per unit. In the proposed tariff structure for FY 2025-26, the tariff during Night hours will be Rs 8.34, during Solar hours Rs 6.51 and during Peak hours it will be Rs 8.95.

The change is more evident for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in the LT category, where the existing tariff is Rs 7.19 per unit. In the proposed tariff structure, the tariff during Night hours will be Rs 9.75, during Solar hours Rs 7.64, and during Peak hours it will be Rs 10.50.

The petition also states that at present, the state government is providing targeted subsidy/tariff subsidy for a few categories. In the absence of any written commitment in this regard, the APDCL has considered the proposal for a full cost tariff for FY 2025-26. In the event of subsequent similar financial support from the state government, the tariff will get reduced to that extent, it is stated.

The APDCL anticipates that the implementation of the ToD tariff will lead to a reduction in consumption during peak ToD periods.

 Also Read: Assam: AERC allows APDCL to purchase 200 MW power from Kalai II project

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