Why UP will be paying higher electricity bills in April
What's the story
Uttar Pradesh residents will have to pay higher electricity bills from this month, as the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has increased the fuel surcharge.
This will be the first hike in almost five years.
It will add an additional 1.24% to power bills for April, effectively making them fluctuate monthly like fuel prices.
Cost impact
Fuel surcharge affects power bills based on usage
The revised fuel surcharge will now make your electricity bills vary every month, according to individual consumption.
For example, if your March bill was ₹1,000, an additional ₹12.40 will be charged as a fuel surcharge under the new norms.
This comes after the UPPCL empowered power distribution companies to fix Fuel and Power Purchase Adjustment Surcharge (FPPPA) every month as per the Multi-Year Tariff Regulation-2025.
Consumer council's stance
UPPCL's fuel surcharge hike faces opposition
"The surcharge stems from the revised multi-year tariff distribution regulation 2025, which now allows for a monthly fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge (FPPAS) to be recovered from consumers till 2029," HT quoted sources as saying.
The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Consumer Council has protested the hike.
Council President Awadhesh Verma said UPPCL is already ₹33,122 crore in the consumers' debt and has announced this hike without first refunding the pending amount.
About 3.45 crore power consumers will be affected.