Power Tariff Relief For Consumers in SPDCL Limits
No hike as govt bridges `8,238 crore gap
TIRUPATI: Electricity consumers in the jurisdiction of AP Southern Power Distribution Company Ltd will not face any tariff hike in 2026–27, following a decision by the state government to bridge the revenue gap of power utilities.
APSPDCL chairman and managing director Shiva Shankar Lotheti said on Friday that the tariff order issued by the electricity regulatory commission has brought relief to domestic, agricultural and commercial consumers. The alliance government led by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had decided to compensate the revenue deficit of distribution companies, enabling the regulator to retain existing tariffs.
APSPDCL had projected a revenue gap of `8,238 crore for 2026–27. But, with the state government agreeing to cover it, the APERC issued tariff orders without any hike. This benefits 53.84 lakh domestic consumers, while free power continues for 12.15 lakh agricultural users and about 8 lakh SC/ST households, barbers and dhobi ghats, the CMD said.
Commercial consumers have been given relief through a reduction in tariff from `12.25 to `9.95 per unit. The increase in load limit for looms from 10hp to 20hp is expected to benefit around 18,000 weavers.
Shivashankar said a special sub-category has been introduced for solar equipment units, while water purification and printing units have been shifted to the industrial category to reduce costs. Power for highway lighting has been moved to the utilities category, and relief has also been extended to emu and poultry farms through revised classifications and sub-meter provisions.
According to the revenue impact details, 41,510lt Category-II consumers using more than 500 units will see a total relief impact of `13.51 crore. Advertisement hoardings under LT categories, numbering 883, will see a benefit of `0.619 crore. Function halls and auditoriums under LT categories (2,179 consumers) will get a relief of `3.97 crore.
Green power consumers under LT category (45 consumers) and start-up power category (42 consumers) will see marginal benefits of `0.002 crore and `0.02 crore respectively. Among HT consumers, 128 function halls and auditoriums will receive a benefit of `1.974 crore.
A larger relief of `11.816 crore will be extended to 381 HT start-up power consumers, while 7 green power HT consumers will see a benefit of `1.175 crore.
