Mid-summer power shocker: Consumers to pay 3.91% additional surcharge

Bhopal: Summer is continuing to burn a deeper hole in consumers’ pockets, with electricity bills remaining elevated due to a combination of higher consumption, annual tariff revision and monthly fuel cost adjustments. After a 4.8% tariff hike that came into effect from April 1 for the current financial year, consumers will now pay an additional 3.91% Fuel and Power Purchase Adjustment Surcharge (FPPAS) on electricity billed between May 24 and June 23.While the latest surcharge is lower than the 5.36% FPPAS levied during the previous billing cycle, it will still add to consumers’ monthly electricity expenses at a time when air conditioners, coolers and other appliances are driving up power consumption across the state. For a household with a monthly electricity bill of Rs 1,000, the surcharge alone would translate into an additional burden of around Rs 39 during the billing period, over and above the revised tariff rates.Officials said the FPPAS for the latest billing cycle was calculated on the basis of the actual power purchase cost incurred by distribution companies in March this year. The surcharge reflects the difference between the estimated fuel and power procurement cost considered while determining tariffs and the actual expenditure incurred during the month.Under amended regulations of the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC), distribution companies are permitted to automatically recover such variations through a monthly FPPAS mechanism without seeking prior approval from the regulator. Earlier, such adjustments were largely addressed through annual true-up exercises, often resulting in delayed recovery of costs.The power tariff itself is determined annually by MPERC based on projected expenditure and revenue requirements for the financial year. For 2026-27, the regulator approved a 4.8% tariff increase against the 10.19% hike sought by the state’s distribution companies. However, the addition of monthly surcharges linked to fuel and power purchase costs has meant that consumers continue to face fluctuating electricity bills.With summer demand remaining high and power consumption surging across households, consumers are likely to feel the cumulative impact of tariff revisions and monthly surcharges throughout the season, even as the latest FPPAS rate shows some moderation compared with the previous billing cycle.