Himachal: New fuel surcharge in power bills draws flak
Electricity consumers across Himachal Pradesh are expressing sharp resentment after the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) introduced a new fuel-related surcharge in this month’s bills. Defiant and frustrated by the mounting financial burden, many have taken to social media to share copies of their bills, highlighting the newly added “Fuel and Power Purchase Adjustment Surcharge” (FPPAS). The surcharge is calculated based on consumption slabs for both domestic and commercial users.
A growing pile of levies
This latest levy compounds an already heavy financial burden for consumers. Just last month, the HPSEBL hiked the electricity tariff for commercial consumers by Re 1 per unit. Furthermore, the state government had previously imposed both an environment cess and a milk cess across various consumer categories, effective July 1, 2025.
Environment cess
Shop establishments and medium commercial consumers pay 2 paise and 4 paise per unit, respectively. Other commercial categories are charged between 10 paise and Rs 2 per unit, depending on consumption.
Milk cess
All domestic consumers — excluding those with zero-billed consumption — are charged 10 paise per unit.
Political backlash
The multi-layered taxing has triggered fierce political criticism. Opposition BJP legislators from Kangra district, Vipin Singh Parmar and Bikram Thakur, slammed the Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. They alleged that despite promising 300 units of free electricity as a key poll guarantee, the administration had instead burdened residents with relentless cesses and surcharges.
Official stance
Defending the move, Vikas Thakur, Additional Superintending Engineer of the Nurpur electrical division, stated that the FPPAS was implemented following a directive from the state electricity regulatory commission — the statutory authority governing Himachal’s power sector. He clarified that the surcharge was integrated into June’s bills after receiving formal approval from the HPSEBL Board of Directors during its 70th meeting.
