Guwahati, November 2: Electricity consumers in Assam may face an additional financial burden on their monthly bills after the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) allowed the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) to recover Rs 155.59 crore in accumulated Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment Surcharge (FPPPAS).
The accumulated surcharge relates to the period from April to August 2026 and will be recovered in phases between November 2026 and March 2027.
In its order dated October 30, the commission noted that APDCL had been unable to collect the surcharge within the prescribed billing cycles due to flood-related disruptions and other force majeure circumstances. The accumulated amount resulted from variations in power purchase and transmission costs.
APDCL had proposed recovering the amount over five months at a monthly FPPPAS rate of 3.81 per cent. Its proposed collection schedule included Rs 40.07 crore in November, Rs 30.95 crore in December, Rs 28.97 crore in January, Rs 29.36 crore in February and Rs 26.23 crore in March.
However, AERC did not approve the proposed month-wise recovery schedule or the specific 3.81 per cent rate. Instead, it granted APDCL flexibility to determine the monthly recovery between November 2026 and March 2027, while directing the company to consider the financial impact on consumers.
APDCL had also proposed a reduced surcharge of Rs 0.05 per unit for consumers under the Jeevan Dhara category and Domestic-A households consuming up to 120 units a month. The commission did not approve this differential rate either.
The regulator directed APDCL to clearly distinguish the accumulated surcharge from the regular monthly FPPPAS payable during the same period. The company must also maintain month-wise records of the surcharge levied and recovered, along with supporting calculations and billing details, and submit them to the commission for scrutiny.
Under the existing regulations, the surcharge for a particular month is ordinarily collected in the second succeeding month. However, APDCL said it could not recover the accumulated dues within the prescribed billing cycles because of flood-related disruptions and other exceptional circumstances.
AERC clarified that the relaxation had been granted only in view of the special circumstances of this case and would not serve as a precedent for future cases. It also stressed the need for timely compliance with regulatory provisions to prevent the accumulation of outstanding amounts and avoid sudden or disproportionate tariff impacts on consumers.
The actual additional amount payable by consumers each month will depend on the recovery schedule determined by APDCL.
