SRINAGAR — Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday defended the Jammu and Kashmir government's decision to raise electricity tariffs, describing the hike as a "compulsion" necessitated by mounting losses in the power sector, while pointing to higher tariff increases approved during previous governments.
Abdullah was reacting to criticism over the 6.83 per cent average tariff increase approved by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), which will come into effect from September 1.
The Chief Minister said the government had increased electricity rates by only around six per cent after four years and argued that the rise was necessary in view of the increase in the cost of oil and other commodities, as well as the financial losses being incurred in the power sector.
"We increased the rate of electricity by only 6 per cent. That too after four years," Abdullah said, adding that the government had increased the tariff "as much as we could" while keeping the burden limited.
He also hit back at critics, saying previous governments had increased electricity rates by more than 14 per cent, and that a 15 per cent tariff increase had been approved four years ago.
"This was our compulsion. We are not celebrating by increasing the rate of electricity," he said.
On the free-electricity promise
On the National Conference's election promise of 200 units of free electricity, Abdullah said the promise was aimed at providing free electricity to the poorest people and had no connection with the tariff revision.
"The rates of electricity won't increase. We said that we will give 200 units to the poorest people for free. There is no connection between the price of electricity and this scheme. We will continue to provide free electricity to people," he said.
The government had earlier announced a scheme for providing 200 units of free electricity to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, linked with the PM Surya Ghar initiative.
Outstanding government dues
The Chief Minister's justification based on power-sector losses comes against the backdrop of a substantial amount of unpaid electricity dues owed by government departments, public sector undertakings and security establishments.
According to figures placed before the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly by Abdullah in April, total outstanding electricity dues stood at ₹3,747.35 crore, with ₹2,310.22 crore pending with KPDCL and ₹1,437.13 crore with JPDCL.
Among the major defaulters were the Public Health Engineering Department, with dues of around ₹1,300 crore; the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, with over ₹580 crore; the CRPF, with around ₹296 crore; the Army, with around ₹197 crore; and the BSF, with over ₹11 crore.
The Home Department had outstanding dues of over ₹223 crore, while municipal bodies collectively owed more than ₹241 crore. Even the Power Development Department itself had outstanding electricity dues of more than ₹107 crore.
New tariff structure
The revised tariff also applies to government departments. Under the new tariff structure, government departments using LT metered supply will be charged ₹8.30 per kVAh, along with applicable fixed charges.
For ordinary metered domestic consumers, the revised energy charge will be ₹2.45 per unit up to 200 units, ₹4.20 for 201–400 units and ₹4.60 above 400 units, with the fixed charge rising to ₹10 per kW per month.
The new rates will remain applicable from September 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, unless modified or extended by JERC.
According to the news agency KNT, the government has argued that the tariff revision is necessary to narrow the gap between the cost of supplying electricity and revenue realisation.
JERC has approved a combined Annual Revenue Requirement of ₹10,275.72 crore for JPDCL and KPDCL for 2026–27, while the utilities had projected a substantial revenue gap. The Commission has also relied on government subsidy and grant support to prevent the entire revenue gap from being passed on to consumers through tariffs.
The Chief Minister's defence comes amid growing political opposition to the tariff revision, with the PDP, Apni Party and other political groups holding protests in Srinagar against the increase.
The article first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse at https://kashmirpulse.com/jk/cm-omar-defends-6-83-power-tariff-hike-as-compulsion-cites-losses/115590.html
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