No change in power tariff for domestic, commercial users
Effective rates
- Domestic consumers: ₹5.40 to ₹7.75 per kVAh
- Commercial consumers: ₹6.89 to ₹7.75 per KWh
- Industrial consumers: ₹5.82 to ₹7.04 per kVAh
There will be no hike in power tariff for domestic and commercial consumers in Punjab in 2025-26, according to the New Power Tariff Order for the next fiscal announced by Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) here on Friday.
There is no increase in fixed charges for any category of consumers. The PSERC has merged two of the three categories of domestic and commercial consumers, without imposing any extra load on them. This has been done to simplify the billing process.
However, there is a minor increase in power tariff for the industries that run their units during night hours (from 10 pm to 6 am). For such units, the night tariff has been increased from the present Rs 5.25 per unit to Rs 5.50 per unit.
These industries have also been allowed to run units at normal tariff for additional four hours (from 6 am to 10 am). There has also been an upward revision in power charges collected from local bodies, for running of solid-waste management plants and water supply schemes. Here, the increase in tariff is Rs 0.21 per kVAh. Charging electric vehicles will cost Rs 6.28 per kVAh.
Announcing the new tariff order, PSERC Chairperson Vishwajit Khanna said the reason they were able to keep the tariff uncharged for domestic and commercial consumers was that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and the Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited had a revenue surplus of Rs 311.50 crore,” he said.
It may be mentioned that the power subsidy bill for 2025-26 will be Rs 20,500 crore. Of this, Rs 9,992 crore is the subsidy for agri consumers and Rs 7,614 crore for domestic consumers. The industry will get a subsidy of Rs 2,894 crore.