Electricity Bills to Rise as Assam Approves Recovery of Rs 155 Crore Surcharge

STAFF REPORTER

Guwahati: Electricity consumers can expect a hike in their monthly power bill as the unit cost is set to spike from November.

This follows the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) okaying Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd's (APDCL) proposal to recover approximately Rs 155.59 crore in accumulated Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment Surcharge (FPPPAS) for April to August 2026 through a staggered mechanism over the remaining months of the current financial year.

In an order, the commission relaxed Regulations 4.2, 4.3, 4.6 and 5.1 of the AERC (Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment) Regulations, 2024, to facilitate recovery of the accumulated surcharge from November 2026 to March 2027.

APDCL had approached the commission seeking relaxation of the existing regulatory provisions, citing delays in the levy of FPPPAS amid flood-related disruptions and force majeure circumstances.

The distribution company submitted that variations in power purchase and transmission costs had resulted in the accumulation of around Rs 156 crore in FPPPAS for the five-month period from April to August 2026, excluding supplementary bills.

APDCL submitted that it had formulated a five-month staggered recovery schedule from November 2026 to March 2027. The petition proposed recovery of approximately Rs. 155.59 crore through this schedule, with a FPPPAS rate of 3.81% per month for full recovery. The projected month-wise recovery was Rs 40.07 crore in November 2026, Rs 30.95 crore in December 2026, Rs 28.97 crore in January 2027, Rs 29.36 crore in February 2027 and Rs 26.23 crore in March 2027.

Under the existing regulations, the surcharge for each month is ordinarily required to be levied in the second succeeding month. Accordingly, the surcharge for April was due in June, May in July, and August in October. However, the accumulated amount could not be recovered within the prescribed billing cycles.

The AERC observed that the regular monthly FPPPAS becoming due from September 2026 onwards would further add to the recovery burden during the remaining months of the financial year.

The company argued that imposing the full accumulated surcharge on economically vulnerable households would place an excessive financial burden on them. Hence, it proposed a reduced surcharge of Rs 0.05 per unit for consumers under the Jeevan Dhara category and Domestic-A category consuming up to 120 units per month, while recovering the applicable surcharge from other consumer categories.

As a result of the proposed reduced recovery, Rs 48.73 crore would remain unrecovered, which APDCL has proposed to recover through the ensuing true-up proceedings, subject to the determination of the commission.

However, instead of approving APDCL's specific month-wise recovery schedule and differential rates, AERC granted the company flexibility to determine the month-wise levy of the accumulated surcharge between November 2026 and March 2027.

The commission directed APDCL to exercise the flexibility with due consideration to the impact on consumers and ensure that the accumulated FPPPAS is clearly distinguished from the regular monthly surcharge becoming payable during the same period.

The company has also been directed to maintain proper month-wise records of the surcharge levied and recovered, along with supporting calculations and billing particulars, and submit the details to the commission for information and prudence check.

The order further clarified that any adjustment during the true-up process shall be made only to the extent admissible under the applicable regulations or as considered appropriate by the commission.

Emphasising that the relaxation is limited to the special circumstances of the present case, AERC stated that it shall not be treated as a precedent for future cases. Timely compliance with regulatory provisions must remain the norm to prevent accumulation of unrecovered amounts, financial and operational hardship to the distribution company, and sudden or disproportionate tariff impacts on consumers.

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