Election Year Bonanza for Punjabi’s, PSERC reduces power tariff for 2026-27

Election Year Bonanza for Punjabi’s, PSERC reduces power tariff for 2026-27

Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 6,2026

PSERC has reduces the power tariff by almost 10 percent for all categories in the election year,

The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission chaired by Viswajeet Khanna, IAS (Retd.) and Members Er. Ravinder Singh Saini (Member/Technical) and Ravi Kumar (Member/Legal) have issued the Tariff Orders containing tariff/charges for FY 2026-27 vide Orders dated 06.03.2026. In the Orders, the Commission has determined the true-up of FY 2024-25, ARR for the 4^th MYT Control Period (FY 2026-27 to FY 2028-29) and Determination of Tariff/charges applicable for FY 2026-27 in respect of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL). The Commission has decided to make the new tariff/charges applicable from 1 st April, 2026 up to 31st March, 2027.

In accordance with Section 61 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the Commission has established a robust regulatory architecture predicated on cost-reflective tariffs, the timely issuance of orders within the 120-day statutory mandate, and a strict non- creation of regulatory assets policy; this framework reinforced by the automatic pass- through of FPPAS, the Resource Adequacy Framework, alongwith approval of substantial CAPEX for system augmentation and loss reduction works has institutionalized the financial discipline necessary to secure PSPCL’s A+ rating and a profit of Rs. 2634 Crore in the year ending 31st March, 2025. In addition, the Commission has been ranked as the best-performing and top power regulatory State among all the States and UT’s in India, in the first-ever national ranking of regulatory performance 2025 by the Power Foundation of India in collaboration

with REC Limited (under the aegis of MoP‚ GoI), recognized for its transparency and financial discipline PSPCL had submitted in the revised submission to the ARR petition that it has a revenue deficit of Rs. 453 Crore up to FY 2026-27 and requested for increase in tariff accordingly. However, the Commission, after a detailed and thorough prudence check and validation, has determined the revenue required for the year to be Rs. 48996.28 Crore. There is a surplus of Rs. 7851.91 Crore from the true up of FY 2024- 25 and projections of FY 2026-27 with the revenue from the existing tariff totaling Rs. 52791.41 Crore. Thus the net ARR required to be recovered from Tariff for FY 2026- 27, after adjusting the surplus of Rs. 7851.91 Crore, is Rs. 44939.50 Crore. The new tariff has been designed to recover the same.

Salient Features

1. The new tariff will be applicable from 01.04.2026 to 31.03.2027.
2. While maintaining the financial viability of PSPCL, the Commission has prioritised consumer interest by passing on the benefits of operational efficiencies through a downward revision of the tariff schedule for all consumer categories, with an overall relief of Rs. 7851.91 Crore. Apart from relief to the consumers of the State, the reduced tariff across the board, also curtails the burden of government subsidies fostering long-term fiscal sustainability for Punjab
3. Cross-subsidies have been kept within the ±20% limits in line with the provisions of the National Tariff Policy.
4. The ACOS for FY 2026-27 has been estimated at Rs. 6.15/kWh against ACOS of Rs. 7.15 /kWh of FY 2025-26.
5. For Small Power category the applicable limit has been increased from existing upto 20 kW to upto 50 kW. This regulatory intervention is aimed at promoting the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ by allowing consumers to scale their operational capacity within the existing infrastructure. By optimizing the utilization of existing distribution networks and reducing administrative hurdles for load enhancement, this shall help to balance consumer affordability with the operational efficiency of PSPCL.
6. To further accelerate the state’s electric vehicle transition, Commission has revised EV charging tariff to Rs. 5.00/kVAh which is one of the lowest nationwide. This initiative is a critical step toward making clean energy accessible to all, providing a cost-effective alternative to conventional fuel and ensuring a sustainable future for every citizen.
7. Electric connections of lawyers’ chambers registered with the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana, situated in Court Complexes across the State, shall be included under the Domestic Supply (DS) Schedule.
8. BnB/Home Stay units duly registered with the Department of Tourism, Punjab using electricity strictly for domestic/residential purposes, shall be covered under the Schedule of Tariff for Domestic Supply (DS).
9. “Voltage Rebate” for all consumers getting supply at 400 kV is being increased to 40 paise/kWh from the existing 35 paise/kWh to encourage more units to use the more efficient higher voltage which has lowest losses in transmission. For all other consumers with connected loads above 33 kV the existing voltage rebate is being continued.
10. In mixed load industry, PIU loads having installed / connected kVA rating up to 100 kVA was taken out of the PIU load category. The same benefit has been further extended to the next year i.e. FY 2026-27 also.
11. Special night tariff with 50% Fixed Charges and Energy Charge of Rs.5.50/kVAh for all industrial consumers using electricity exclusively during the night hours of 10:00 PM to 06:00 AM next day has also been continued.

On the demand of the industry, the facility for use of electricity by the night category consumers, during the extended 4 hours of 06:00 AM to 10:00 AM at normal tariff has also been continued.

12. To encourage PIU units to migrate to General Industry and to merge the tariff for Power Intensive Units and General Industry during FY 2026-27 itself, the Commission has already approved relaxation in the implementation of power quality regulation in Petition No. 49 of 2023 order dated 06.12.2023 and vide order in Petition No. 46 of 2024 to allow all the systems to be put in place for a smooth implementation of the power quality regulations.
13. The Commission has continued with the existing TOD (Time of Day tariff) period of 16th June to 15th October with the existing TOD surcharge of Rs. 2.0/kVAh over the normal tariff during 2026-27 also. There is no increase in the surcharge over last year.
14. The Commission has also worked out the green energy tariff for the consumers under the provisions of the Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022. This is a tariff reduced to Rs. 0.15/kWh from the earlier tariff of Rs. 0.39/kWh applicable last year. This is will encourage further adoption and use of green energy exclusively by industrial units through PSPCL.
15. Further, details are in the tariff orders uploaded on the PSERC website www.pserc.punjab.gov.in.