Telangana power consumers face Rs 5,420 crore True-Up burden over next 2.5 years

Telangana electricity consumers outside the agricultural sector will face additional charges from November 2026 after TGERC approved recovery of Rs 5,420.23 crore. The amount will be collected at 30 paise per unit initially and 50 paise thereafter over 29 or 26 billing months

Hyderabad: Electricity consumers in Telangana, except those in the agricultural sector, will face an additional charge from November 2026 as the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) has approved the recovery of Rs 5,420.23 crore in true-up amounts from non-agricultural consumers.

The recovery is part of a total true-up amount of Rs 7,635.22 crore relating to 2022-23 and 2023-24. Of the total, Rs 2,214.99 crore attributable to the agricultural sector will be recovered from the State government, while the remaining Rs 5,420.23 crore will be collected from eligible consumers through the two distribution companies — TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL.

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The recovery will begin with electricity bills issued in November 2026. Consumers will be charged 30 paise per unit in the first month and 50 paise per unit thereafter. The recovery will be spread over 29 billing months in the TGSPDCL area and 26 billing months in the TGNPDCL jurisdiction.

The TGERC said Rs 4,222.93 crore of the amount to be recovered from consumers would pertain to TGSPDCL and Rs 1,197.30 crore to TGNPDCL. The Rs 2,214.99 crore attributable to agriculture comprises Rs 1,442.49 crore in the TGSPDCL area and Rs 772.50 crore in the TGNPDCL area. The Commission directed the discoms to approach the State government for recovery of the agricultural component.

For 2022-23, the power purchase true-up was determined at Rs 5,186.29 crore, while the revenue true-up for 2023-24 was fixed at Rs 2,448.93 crore. Together, the two amounts account for the Rs 7,635.22 crore approved for recovery.

What is true-up?

True-up is a regulatory mechanism through which differences between estimated and actual costs or revenues for a previous financial year are assessed and adjusted. In the power sector, distribution companies file their claims before the electricity regulator, which examines the expenses and other relevant factors before determining the amount that can be recovered.

The latest recovery relates to power purchase costs for 2022-23 and revenue adjustments for 2023-24. It is therefore an adjustment relating to previous financial years rather than a fresh tariff order for those years.

The Commission has directed the discoms to show the true-up charge separately in consumer bills. The bill must specify the financial year, the monthly consumption used for calculating the recovery and the applicable rate. If recovery relates to both financial years in a particular billing month, the amounts must be shown separately.

Concerns over delayed recovery

Former TGERC chairman T Sriranga Rao said discoms should file true-up petitions for each financial year within the prescribed time instead of accumulating claims over several years.

He said consumers should not be made to bear the consequences of administrative delays by distribution companies. According to Rao, the Commission can also determine a true-down after examining actual income, expenditure and other relevant factors, instead of necessarily approving the entire amount claimed.

Rao also pointed to a possible issue involving rented properties. Where electricity consumption relates to a previous tenant, he said, recovering the corresponding amount from the current occupant could create disputes between tenants and landlords.

He suggested that discoms should incorporate their required claims into the Annual Revenue Requirement of the relevant year and place them before the Commission for consideration, rather than seeking delayed recovery through separate petitions several years later.

Earlier true-up amounts

The previous BRS government had also faced large true-up claims from the discoms. According to records cited in the copy, the discoms had sought around Rs 12,514.57 crore between 2016-17 and 2022-23 under true-up and UDAY savings reversal, comprising Rs 10,281.73 crore in true-up claims and Rs 2,232.84 crore in UDAY savings reversal.

The previous government had committed to supporting the discoms without burdening consumers and to paying the approved amount over five years. TGSPDCL’s annual report records that the Commission had finalised power purchase and distribution business true-ups and allowed Rs 9,673 crore for the relevant filing periods, following a State government communication committing support without burdening consumers over five years.

The current recovery decision has therefore revived debate over how delayed true-up claims should be handled and whether the financial burden should be passed on to consumers or absorbed through government support.

For consumers, the immediate impact will be an additional true-up component in monthly electricity bills from November 2026. The Commission has, however, stipulated that the amount recovered from an individual consumer cannot exceed the true-up amount applicable to that consumer’s consumption during the relevant financial years.