Electricity Rates To Increase In The State Of Odisha ? The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OREC) on Tuesday took an important decision for the people of the state. There will be no increase in the electricity tariff of domestic and retail consumers in the coming financial year 2026-27, said Secretary Priyabrat Patnaik at a press conference held at the ORC premises.
The Secretary said that the tariff in force this year (2025-26) will remain unchanged in the next year (2026-27). To promote the production and use of renewable energy and industrial electricity consumption, the commission has changed the tariff of some specific consumers. If the HT electricity consumer uses more than 80% of his load, he will get a discount of 30 paise instead of 20 paise. Mega Irrigation Projects (HT and EHT) have been placed in the commercial consumer category. They will get a discount of Rs 2 per unit on electricity consumed during solar hours (8 am to 4 pm) and Rs 1 per unit at other times. Consumers whose load is more than 10 kW and have smart meters installed will pay 10% less than their tariff on electricity consumption during solar hours and will pay an additional 10% on electricity consumption during peak hours (6 am to 12 midnight). For the first time, LT consumers of 100 kW or above have been given the opportunity to purchase electricity from the open market. Similarly, the average tariff of OHPC has been reduced to 99.22 paise per unit for the current year from 100.23 paise. The tariff of OPGC Phase 1 and 2 plants has been reduced. As a result, Gridco will save Rs 90 crore annually, which will directly benefit the consumers.
Patnaik further said that the transmission tariff of OPTCL has been reduced to 24 paise per unit for the current year from 25.50 paise. Similarly, the wholesale purchase price of Gridco has been reduced slightly to 330.95 paise per unit for the next year from 331.10 paise per unit for the current year. On this occasion, the secretary said that keeping in mind the interests of the consumers, the commission has recommended the state government to conduct a CAG audit of the electricity distribution companies of Odisha.
Welcoming the ORC’s electricity tariff, State Secretary of the State Electricity Consumers’ Association, Ravi Behera, said that electricity prices cannot just remain stable. It is worrying that the ORC is silent on the refund of the additional Rs 7,145 crore collected from consumers in the last 7 years.
Similarly, electricity analyst Anand Mohapatra said that the main reason behind the non-increase in electricity prices for five consecutive years, including this year, is that the distribution companies are charging more than the average tariff fixed by the commission. Between 2017-18 and 2024-25, the distribution companies had collected Rs 7145 crore more than the tariff fixed by the commission, but the ORC should explain why it has not been refunded to the consumers so far.
It is worth noting that currently, the tariff for retail electricity consumers in the state is Rs 2.90 for the first 50 units. The tariff for 51 to 200 units is Rs 4.70, while for 201 to 400 units, it is Rs 5.70 and for units above 400, it is Rs 6.10.
