No relief for power consumers as surcharge extended till March ’26

There is no relief in sight for power consumers in Haryana with the Power Department extending fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge (FPPAS) of 47 paise per unit on power consumers till March 2026.

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Talking points

• The FPPAS which was applicable till December 2024, has been extended from January 2025 to March 2026

• It is charged on the consumers consuming over 200 units.

• The FPPAS has been continued to recover the amount incurred by the discoms in arranging additional power supply through short-term agreements

• It was speculated that the FPPAS would be discontinued in view of improved fiscal health of the discoms

The FPPAS, which was earlier known as fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA), is levied on those power consumers who consume over 200 units of electricity. It was first introduced in April 2023 and was continued till December 2024.

With the improvement of the fiscal health of the power distribution companies, it was widely believed that the power consumers would get some relief in the power tariff. However, the continuation of the surcharge has given another shock to power consumers in the state.

There are nearly 81 lakh power consumers in the state. While 43.57 lakh power consumers come under the jurisdiction of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), about 37.39 lakh power consumers come under the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN).

The FPPAS has been continued to recover the amount incurred by the power distribution companies in arranging additional electricity supply through short-term agreements, officials said.

The officials said the power consumers consuming 201 units of power will have to shell out additional over Rs 94 by way of additional surcharge.

There are different tariffs for different categories of power consumers with the lowest tariff of Rs 2.75 per unit applicable for consumers consuming 0-150 units. The next slab is for the consumers consuming 151-250 units who pay Rs 5.25 per units. The consumers consuming 215-500 units will shell out Rs 6.30 per unit, while a tariff of Rs 7.10 per unit is paid by the consumers consuming 501-800 units.