The Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) has issued new Tariff Orders, revising the tariffs for Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL), Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited (AEGCL), and State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) effective from April 1, 2024. Additionally, the tariff for Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) will be revised starting July 1, 2024.
APDCL, APGCL, AEGCL, and SLDC had submitted petitions on November 30, 2023, seeking approval for Truing Up for FY 2022-23, Annual Performance Review (APR) for FY 2023-24, and determination of the Revised Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Tariff for FY 2024-25.
Key Financial Highlights
APDCL's Financial Request: APDCL requested approval for a Truing Up Gap of ₹1766.09 Crore, including a carrying cost of ₹319.01 Crore for FY 2022-23. They reported an APR Gap of ₹1437.11 Crore for FY 2023-24 and a surplus of ₹97.26 Crore for FY 2024-25.
Major Reasons for Revenue Gap:
Increased Power Purchase Costs: Due to a significant rise in gas prices, power purchase costs have escalated. Approximately 25% of APDCL’s power comes from gas-based stations.
Distribution Loss: APDCL reported a distribution loss of 16.22%, higher than the approved 15.00%, resulting in additional power purchase costs of ₹196 Crore.
Conversion of Government Grants to Equity: The State Government approved the conversion of outstanding grants to equity, amounting to ₹7041.11 Crore for APDCL, APGCL, and AEGCL.
Tariff Decisions
Fixed and Energy Charges: APDCL did not propose any increase in Fixed and Energy Charges but suggested merging the existing Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPPA) with the energy charges.
Approved Generation Tariff: The Commission approved a generation tariff of ₹6.02 per kWh for FY 2024-25.
Transmission Tariff and SLDC Charges: Transmission tariff has been set at ₹0.51 per kWh, and SLDC charges at ₹155.23/MW/day.
No Tariff Increase for Consumers: Category-wise tariffs remain unchanged from FY 2023-24 levels. The prevalent FPPPA of ₹1.29/kWh will be merged with the Energy Charge, but consumers will continue to pay the same overall tariff due to continued government subsidies.
Additional Details
Average Cost of Supply (ACoS): The ACoS for FY 2024-25 is ₹9.55 per kWh, slightly lower than APDCL’s proposal of ₹9.57 per kWh. The approved ACoS for FY 2023-24 was ₹8.02 per kWh, with an additional FPPPA of ₹1.29/kWh.
Cross-Subsidy Management: The Commission aims to maintain cross-subsidy between consumer categories within ±20% of the ACoS.
EV Charging Stations: Single-part tariff for LT EV Charging Stations is set at the ACoS of ₹9.55/kWh. HT EV Charging Stations will have a tariff of 90% of ACoS, i.e., ₹8.60/kWh.
Green Energy Tariff: A voluntary Green Energy Tariff of ₹1.83/kWh has been set for consumers opting for additional renewable energy.
