Power Minister Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhav alikar on Monday clarified that the Time of Day (ToD) metering tariff will not be implemented to domestic or low-tension (LT) power consumers for next three years, but a five per cent hike in power bills will be made applicable from this month. Addressing a press con ference, Dhavalikar said, “A five per cent hike in power tariff will be implemented from October 1, 2025. The installation of smart energy meters will start from December this year even as ToD metering for domestic consumers will take at least three years and would be decided by the next government.”
“This government at this moment will not implement ToD metering for domestic consumers. ToD metering has already been in place for industrial consumers for several years. This is not something new,” he claimed. He added that the recent power tariff hike effective from October this year was a marginal 2.5 per cent for domestic consumers, translating to around 10 paise per unit. Giving details of tariff charges as per consumption slab, the Minister said that those consuming 0 to 100 units will be charged Rs 1.95 per unit instead of Rs 1.90 per unit, a rise of 2.6 per cent while, consumption slab for 101 to 200 units has been revised from Rs 2.80 to Rs 2.90, a rise by 3.6 per cent. Similarly those consuming 201 to 300 units will be charged Rs 3.90 per unit instead of Rs 3.70 per unit, a rise by 5 per cent and units consumed between 301 to 400 units will be charged Rs 5.15 per unit instead of Rs 5.90 per cent, also an increase by 5 per cent. The power consumed above 400 units will be charged Rs 6.2 per unit instead of Rs 5.8 per unit. Dhavalikar further informed that the Electricity Depart ment will start installation of smart meters for nearly 6.80 lakh domestic consumers from December 2025, starting with government offices. This process will take almost three years even as the agency has been asked to complete it within two-and-a-half years. The Minister claimed that the HT consumers have been given benefits in the revised power tariff. The slab has been classified as normal, peak and off peak hours. Eight hours of the day (9 am to 5 pm) will be charged 80 per cent, i.e. 100 per cent while during peak hours (5 pm to 1 am) has been lowered to 120 per cent instead of 130 per cent. Dur ing off peak hours (1 am to 9 am) tariff has been increased from 80 per cent to 100 per cent. Responding to criticism and protest by the opposition parties over the department’s proposal to increase night time power tariffs by 20 per cent, Dhavalikar claimed that his statement was miscommunicated by the media. He dis missed opposition allegations regarding the hike, urging critics to “understand the issue before resorting to pro tests.” When asked why the Electricity Department is asking consumers to relocate their electricity meters for record ing the energy meter reading when it will start fitting smart meters, Chief Engineer Stephen Fernandes said that out of 6.80 lakh domestic consumers, nearly 6.45 lakh have installed their meters outside their residences. As per the regulations meter has to be accessible for me ter readers for recording meter reading and to check for power theft
