Relief to 2.22 crore power consumers in Bihar, Regulatory Commission announces no tariff hike for next FY

Amid speculations of increase in electricity tariff, regulator Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Wednesday announced that there will be “no tariff increase across all categories for 2026-27”, deciding to keep the tariff rate unchanged for the next financial year from April 1.

The decision will provide major relief to 2.22 crore energy consumers in Bihar.

The Commission rejected the proposal of both Discoms (North Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd) for a 35 paise tariff increase in energy charges across categories.

A full bench comprising chairman Amir Subhani and two members Parshuram Singh Yadav and Arun Kumar Sinha announced the tariff orders for the financial year 2026-27 on a series of petitions filed by both Discoms and other power companies such as transmission company, Bihar Grid Company, SLDC and others.

“The proposal of DISCOMs to increase energy charges by 35 paise per unit across all consumer categories has not been accepted. There will be no increase in electricity tariff in the next financial year from April 1,” Mr. Subhani told reporters at a press conference in Patna.

“After detailed consideration and vigilant check of its proposals, the Commission has determined net Total Revenue Requirement (ARR) of ₹ 16555.69 crore with revenue surplus of ₹ 2.69 crore for NBPDCL and net ARR of ₹ 18908.97 crore with revenue surplus of ₹ 1931.35 crore for SBPDCL, including carrying cost for FY 2026-27.” “The gap/surplus in FY 2024-25 has been addressed,” he said, citing the financial health of utilities and the need to avoid becoming a burden on consumers.

It was stated that the new tariff rate will come into force from 1 April 2026 and will remain in force until 31 March 2027 or until the Commission’s next tariff order.

It also implemented a uniform tariff rate for both urban and rural domestic consumers, replacing the earlier system of differentiated rates for different brackets.

The Commission accepted the proposal of both Discoms to merge the two tranches into one category for DS-II (urban household consumers), NDS-I (rural commercial users) and NDS-II consumers (urban commercial consumers) and retain the energy charge of the existing sub-slice; This will lead to an effective reduction in tariff (in terms of energy charge) of ₹1.53 per unit for DS-II (urban household consumers), ₹0.42 per unit for NDS-I (rural commercial users) and ₹1.20 per unit for NDS-II (urban commercial consumers).

Currently, DS-II consumers are charged in two tranches. For the first 100 units, they have to pay ₹7.42 per unit and for 100 units and above, they have to pay ₹8.95 per unit. Similarly, NDS-I consumers pay INR 7.79 per unit for up to 100 units and INR 8.21 per unit for above 100 units and above. NDS-II consumers pay Rs 7.73 per unit for the first 100 units and Rs 8.93 per unit for 100 units and above.

But now, the two tiers have been combined into a single category to make billing more transparent and understandable.

Mr. Subhani said that the decision will benefit around 27 lakh electricity consumers from the merger of the plates. He added that consumers will continue to benefit from the discounts/exemptions announced in the current year’s tariff rate (2025-26).

The tariff rates announced by the commission do not include subsidies announced by the state government every year. The government is expected to announce the subsidy on electricity tariff rates for the financial year 2026-27 in the next few days.

The state government is providing 125 units of free electricity to 1.86 crore electricity consumers in the state. Free electricity is provided under the Mukhya Mantri Vidyut Upbhokta Sahayta Yojana.

The decision to provide subsidy-based free electricity for 125 units saved every urban consumer ₹ 550 per month, while others in rural areas consuming up to 125 units saved ₹ 306 per month. The savings an electricity consumer will make thanks to free electricity was calculated based on the electricity tariff announced by BERC for 2025-26.