Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has accepted the financial filings of all five state discoms for the upcoming 2026-27 tariff cycle but has warned that no tariff revision will be considered unless the utilities clearly state the exact revision they want in electricity rates.The commission reviewed the financial filing which includes the annual revenue requirement (ARR), true-up and annual performance review (APR), submitted by the five discoms for financial years 2024-25, 2025-26 and the proposed ARR for 2026-27. ARR represents the total amount a discom requires in a year to operate the electricity distribution system, while the true-up process involves verification of actual expenditure and revenue against approved figures for the past year. APR is mid-term review to assess whether utilities are adhering to the approved ARR.In its admittance order issued on Friday, UPERC said that though the petitions were filed within stipulated timeline under the multi-year tariff (MYT) regulations, 2025, the discoms failed to meet a key regulatory requirement — placing a clear and transparent tariff proposal before the regulator and the public.The commission observed that discoms merely indicated that they were facing a revenue gap and requested UPERC to take “appropriate measures” to bridge this shortfall. The regulator rejected this approach, stating that it was not its responsibility to decide how losses should be recovered in the absence of a formal proposal.UPERC underlined that discoms must clearly spell out their strategy for addressing the projected revenue gap — whether through tariff revision, efficiency improvements, cost rationalisation, or a mix of measures. UPERC directed the discoms to submit a proposed rate schedule or a concrete plan for meeting the revenue gap, warning that it would not suo motu determine tariff hikes or allow increases to be pushed indirectly through revenue gap projections.During preliminary scrutiny, UPERC also flagged several deficiencies in the petitions. These include issues related to billing determinants, distribution losses, energy balance, reconciliation of power purchase costs, operation and maintenance expenses, capital expenditure, and costs associated with smart metering and other schemes.The utilities have been asked to submit detailed clarifications and additional data during proceedings.UPERC directed the discoms to publish public notices within three working days, outlining key details of their ARR, projected revenue gap, costs and underlying assumptions. Consumers and other stakeholders have been given 21 days to submit objections and suggestions. Public hearings on the petitions are proposed to be held across UP in March.Avadhesh Kumar Verma, member of the UPERC advisory committee and chairperson of the UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad, said: “Power companies have collectively submitted an ARR of Rs 1,18,741 crore, including Rs 85,305 crore towards power purchase and Rs 3,837 crore towards operation and maintenance of smart prepaid meters — an expense consumer groups argue should not be passed on to users as per central govt assurances,” he said.
