JAMMU, Aug 22: Electricity consumers in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory are set to feel a squeeze on their household and business budgets as the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has approved an average 6.83 per cent increase in power tariff, effective from September 1, 2026.
However, the Commission has acknowledged that if the entire revenue gap of the power distribution utilities were to be recovered from consumers through tariff alone, the increase would have been around 40 per cent—a level JERC itself described as a “tariff shock”. The Government subsidy of Rs 2420.78 crore has, therefore, prevented a much steeper increase, but it has not spared consumers from a higher tariff bill.
The order passed by JERC covers Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) and Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) and approves their Annual Performance Review for 2025-26, Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) for 2026-27, Revised Retail Supply Tariff and a three-year Business Plan and Multi-Year Tariff framework for 2026-27 to 2028-29. The revised subsidised tariff will apply to electricity consumption from September 1, 2026, and remain valid up to March 31, 2027, unless modified or replaced by a subsequent order.
The JERC has approved a combined net ARR of Rs 10,275.72 crore for JPDCL and KPDCL for 2026-27. Against revenue of Rs 7,352.87 crore at the existing tariff, the combined revenue gap works out to Rs 2,922.85 crore.
The revised tariff is expected to generate Rs 7,854.94 crore, leaving an unmet gap of Rs 2,420.78 crore, which the UT Government has committed to bridge through tariff-related subsidy/grant-in-aid. For individual utilities, the Commission has approved ARR of Rs 5,095.82 crore for JPDCL and Rs 5,179.90 crore for KPDCL. At existing tariffs, JPDCL faced a revenue gap of Rs 1,142.85 crore, while KPDCL faced a much larger gap of Rs 1,779.99 crore.
For metered domestic consumers, the subsidised tariff has been fixed at Rs 2.45 per unit for consumption up to 200 units a month, Rs 4.20 per unit for 201-400 units and Rs 4.60 per unit beyond 400 units. A fixed charge of Rs 10 per kW per month will also apply. For BPL consumers using up to 30 units a month, the energy charge has been fixed at Rs 1.40 per unit, with a fixed charge of Rs 5 per kW per month.
For metered commercial consumers, the approved tariff is Rs 3.75 per unit for single-phase consumption up to 200 units, rising to Rs 5.70 per unit beyond 200 units. Three-phase commercial consumers will pay Rs 6.15 per kVAh. Fixed charges have been set at Rs 75 per kW per month for single-phase connections and Rs 140 per kVA per month for three-phase connections.
Industrial consumers have also been placed under revised tariff arrangements. LT industrial supply has been fixed at Rs 4.60 per kVAh, with a fixed charge of Rs 63 per kVA per month. HT industrial consumers at 11 kV will pay Rs 4.50 per kVAh along with a demand charge of Rs 184 per kVA per month. For power-intensive HT industries, the tariff is higher at Rs 5.30 per kVAh for 11 kV supply and Rs 5.25 per kVAh for 33 kV supply, with a demand charge of Rs 236 per kVA per month.
Agricultural consumers have been given a differentiated structure. Metered connections up to 20 HP will pay Rs 1.05 per unit, while those above 20 HP will pay Rs 6.30 per unit. Fixed charges have been fixed at Rs 23 per HP per month up to 20 HP and Rs 47 per HP above 20 HP.
Unmetered agricultural connections up to 20 HP will attract Rs 375 per HP per month, while those above 20 HP will be charged Rs 2,048 per month.
Consumers with sanctioned load or contract demand above 10 kW, except agricultural consumers, will also face Time-of-Day (ToD) tariff wherever compatible smart metering and billing infrastructure is available.
Under the new system, 6 am to 9 am and 5 pm to 10 pm will be treated as peak hours. Industrial and commercial consumers will face a 20 per cent surcharge on energy charges during these hours, while other eligible consumer categories will face a 10 per cent surcharge. The flip side is a 20 per cent rebate during solar hours from 9 am to 5 pm.
The JERC has refused to wait for 100 per cent smart-meter coverage before introducing ToD billing for eligible consumers. The Commission said ToD tariff can be implemented wherever smart or compatible meters and billing infrastructure are available, even though a significant number of consumers are still awaiting smart meters.
JERC has retained distribution-loss targets of 15 per cent for JPDCL and 19 per cent for KPDCL for the control period, while stressing that distribution losses are a controllable parameter. The Commission has made it clear that inefficiencies of the distribution licensees should not be passed on to consumers.
The Commission has directed JPDCL to intensify measures including smart metering, feeder and distribution-transformer metering, energy accounting, network strengthening and enforcement against technical and commercial losses. It has also ordered area-wise, circle-wise, division-wise and feeder-wise accounting of losses.