BENGALURU: From April 1, electricity consumers will have to pay 7% extra on their bills. Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Thursday issued orders stating that the per unit charge has been reduced for domestic and industrial consumers in different slabs, while the fixed charge has been increased by Rs 25 across the board.
This is against the demand of Energy Supply Companies Limited (ESCOMs), seeking a 7% hike in retail power tariff.
In addition to the revised tariff, consumers will continue to pay 36 paise more per unit as pension and gratuity surcharge (government’s contribution) as per KERC orders issued on March 19.
KERC said that for this financial year, there will be a single slab in tariff realisation for fixed charges and energy charges.
Energy charge down 10 paise, but...
As per the orders, energy charge (per unit/ variable charge) has been reduced by 10 paise for 2025-26 and 5 paise for 2027-28 for LT-domestic consumers; by 160 paise per unit for 2025-26 for LT-Industrial consumers; by 30 paise per unit for 2025-26 for HT-Industrial consumers; by 205 paise per unit for 2025-26 for HT commercial consumers; and by 100 paise per unit for 2025-26 for LT-Commercial installations.
According to sources in the energy department, if a domestic consumer using 250 units power per month with 3KW, who, till March 31, paid around Rs 1,900 a month, will pay over Rs 2,000 from April 1, 2025, with an additional Rs 90 as surcharge, a month.
This is the second consecutive year that KERC has revised the tariff with a reduction. During the last financial year, KERC reduced the overall cost by 110 paise. Explaining the reason, the sources said, “The variable charge depends upon consumption and supply. However, fixed charge is stable. Also as KERC had already announced an additional surcharge, the per unit cost has been reduced. Further, there are also fuel and adjustment charges which keep revising every quarter.”
MG Prabhakar, member of the energy committee, FKCCI, said in any power tariff, there are certain components that should be analysed, including fixed charge, unit charges, surcharges, Time of Day charges and taxes. “Though KERC says, per unit 10 paise has been reduced. Domestic consumers will pay 26 paise per unit more from April 1 as unit charges and Rs 25 more as fixed charges per month. The reason for such a revision will be analysed in detail,” he said.