VIJAYAWADA: Here is a good news for the people of the State as there will be a 13 paise per unit decline in their power bills for one year from November.
For the first time since its establishment in 1999, the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has directed Distribution Companies (Discoms) to refund the true-down amount to consumers in 12 equal monthly instalments from November 2025.
The refund rates are Rs 0.1328 per unit for APSPDCL, Rs 0.1343 for APCPDCL, and Rs 0.1312 for APEPDCL, applicable to power consumption from April 2024 to March 2025, and refund will reflect in power bills from November 2025 to October 2026.
The APERC on Saturday released its Fuel and Power Purchase Cost Adjustment (FPPCA) True-Up Order for the financial year 2024-25 after a thorough review of public objections and suggestions.
It has approved a true-up amount of Rs 1,863.64 crore, significantly lower than the Rs 2,758.76 crore claimed by Discoms resulting in a reduction of Rs 895.12 crore.
In 2024-25, Discoms collected Rs 2,787 crore at a rate of 40 paise per unit monthly. After accounting for this, it has been determined that a net refund of Rs 923.55 crore is due to consumers. The order also details variations in sales, energy dispatch, and transmission and distribution (T&D) losses for the three Discoms — APSPDCL, APCPDCL and APEPDCL. Total sales approved stood at 69,680 million units (MU), with energy dispatch at 77,261 MU, and T&D losses at 9.87%, compared to the claimed 10.17%.
On power purchase costs, the APERC approved Rs 44,624 crore against Discoms’ claim of Rs 45,476 crore, down from Rs 34,517 crore approved in the Retail Supply Tariff (RST) Order for FY 2024-25. The per unit power purchase cost was adjusted to Rs 5.74/kWh for APSPDCL, Rs 5.78/kWh for APCPDCL, and Rs 5.75/kWh for APEPDCL, compared to RST-approved rate of Rs 5.27/kWh.
The approved cost variations, including carrying costs, amount to Rs 1,863.64 crore, with specific refunds of Rs 207.95 crore for APSPDCL, Rs 304.39 crore for APCPDCL, and a surplus of Rs 1,435.89 crore for APEPDCL, leading to the overall refund.