India DISCOM Tariff Guides for Industrial HT Consumers
How Indian state electricity tariffs are structured, what each component costs you, and a regulatory overview of 8 major DISCOMs — with a full tariff calculator to model your bill.
The Business Case
Why HT Tariff Knowledge Matters
For industrial facilities drawing power at 11 kV and above, electricity is one of the top 3 operating costs. Yet most energy managers still receive a monthly bill as a black box.
Demand Charges Can Exceed 40% of Your Bill
A single 15-minute demand spike inflates your billing demand for the entire month. Consumers who understand the minimum guarantee clause routinely eliminate ₹3–12L/year in avoidable fixed charges.
TOD Arbitrage Is Hiding in Plain Sight
Most DISCOMs offer 15–25% off-peak discounts between 10 PM and 6 AM. Shifting even 20% of flexible load saves ₹0.80–₹1.80/kWh on those units — without investing a rupee in hardware.
PF Penalties Compound Silently
A 500 kVA plant at 0.84 PF pays a 2–3% surcharge every month — compounding to ₹4–8L annually at today's HT rates, avoidable with a ₹1.5L APFC panel.
Tariff Orders Change Every Year
Energy charges, FCA rates, TOD windows, and duty percentages all shift annually. Budgeting on stale figures causes 5–8% bill surprises that could have been modelled in advance.
Billing Errors Go Undetected
DISCOM systems misapply TOD multipliers, meter constants, or tariff categories more often than expected. Only rate schedule knowledge lets you catch errors before the 60-day dispute window closes.
Capex Decisions Depend on Correct Rates
Evaluating rooftop solar, storage, or an EHT upgrade? Your ROI calc is only as good as the tariff figures you plug in. The wrong duty rate can flip a 3-year payback to 6 years.
Education
How Industrial HT Tariffs Work in India
Every component of your monthly bill, explained — from consumer categories to electricity duty.
Consumer Category & Supply Voltage
You are classified as HT-I, HT-II, or HT-III based on connected load, sanctioned demand, and supply voltage (11 kV, 33 kV, 66 kV, or EHT). EHT consumers get 5–10% lower rates as an incentive to draw at higher voltage, reducing grid losses.
Demand Charge (Fixed Component)
Your DISCOM levies a demand charge per kVA every month — whether or not you use that power. Billing demand = max(actual MD, X% of contract demand), where X is 75–85% depending on the DISCOM.
Energy Charge + TOD Adjustment
Your base energy charge (₹/kWh) varies by Time-of-Day slot. Peak hours (typically 6–10 PM) attract +20–35%, while off-peak hours (10 PM–6 AM) get −15–25%.
Power Factor Adjustment
PF below threshold (usually 0.90) triggers a 1–3% surcharge. PF above 0.95 earns a 1–2% rebate. This incentivises capacitor banks and APFC panels.
Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA / FAC)
DISCOMs pass through fuel and power purchase cost changes quarterly. FCA ranges ₹0.28–₹0.55/kWh depending on the state's generation mix, and is applied uniformly across all TOD slots.
Electricity Duty & Other Levies
State electricity duty (ED) ranges 6% (AP) to 20% (Gujarat) and is levied on assessed charges. Additional levies include FPPCA, meter rent, and wheeling charges for open access consumers.
Anatomy of a Typical HT Industrial Bill
* Indicative split for a mid-size HT-I consumer. Actual proportions vary by DISCOM and profile.
State DISCOM Profiles
Major Indian DISCOMs — Regulatory Overview
Regulator, latest tariff order citation, and confirmed structural facts for 8 major state distribution companies. Specific ₹/kWh rates are not listed here — they change annually and must be verified from the linked SERC orders.
KSEB Ltd.
Regulator: KSERC — Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: KSERC OP No. 18/2023 dated 05.12.2024 — covers FY2025-26 & FY2026-27
- ·Three-period tariff structure: pre-December 2024 / December 2024–March 2025 / FY2025–27, all published at kseb.in
- ·HT categories include HT-I(A) Industry and EHT Industrial (66 kV) with stepped demand charges across each period
- ·Current multi-year control period covers FY2025-26 and FY2026-27 — KSEB filed its tariff petition on 13 August 2024
- ·Exact energy charges for the FY2025-27 period should be verified directly at kseb.in/tariff
MSEDCL (Mahadiscom)
Regulator: MERC — Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: MERC Case No. 217 of 2024 — 5th MYT Control Period FY2025-26 to FY2029-30
- ·5th Control Period approved a 10% overall tariff reduction for FY2025-26 and a cumulative 16% reduction by FY2029-30 vs. existing tariff including FAC, citing a ₹44,481 crore projected revenue surplus
- ·TOD peak-hour surcharge for HT/LT Industrial & Commercial: +25% (17:00–24:00); solar-hour rebates: −15% in FY2025-27, scaling to −20%/−30% in later years by season
- ·Single-shift HT industry qualifies for a 40% discount on demand charges
- ·HT energy charges are expressed per kVAh — MSEDCL uses kVAh metering, not kWh
TANGEDCO
Regulator: TNERC — Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: TNERC Order No. 6 of 2025 (effective 01.07.2025) — 3.16% revision under CPI-linked formula
- ·TNERC uses a CPI-linked annual revision formula introduced in its 2022 multi-year tariff order, capped at 6% per year
- ·Revision history: July 2023 +2.18% · July 2024 +4.83% · July 2025 +3.16% (the lowest revision since July 2019)
- ·HT industrial consumers bear CPI revisions directly; domestic and subsidised categories are partly shielded by state government subsidy
- ·Current HT energy charges effective from 01.07.2025 are in TNERC Order No. 6 of 2025
BESCOM (+ MESCOM, CESC, GESCOM, HESCOM)
Regulator: KERC — Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: KERC Tariff Order 2022 + subsequent orders; SRTPV order dated 09.07.2025
- ·KERC issues a single tariff order covering all five Karnataka ESCOMs: BESCOM, MESCOM, CESC, GESCOM, and HESCOM
- ·BESCOM is the largest ESCOM by consumer base, serving Bengaluru and seven surrounding districts
- ·KERC's SRTPV order dated 09.07.2025 confirms rate determinations continue under the current KERC framework
- ·Exact HT energy charges and TOD slot multipliers for FY2024-25 and FY2025-26 must be retrieved from the current KERC order
TPDDL / BRPL / BYPL
Regulator: DERC — Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: DERC unified tariff schedule + PPAC orders Q3 FY2024-25 (derc.gov.in)
- ·DERC issues a single unified tariff schedule across all three Delhi DISCOMs — TPDDL (North & North-West), BRPL (South & West), BYPL (East & Central)
- ·Consumers drawing at 33/66 kV get a 2.5% rebate on energy charges; at 220 kV the rebate is 4%
- ·MD exceeding contract demand triggers a 30% surcharge on fixed/demand charges for that month
- ·PPAC is revised quarterly — Q3 FY2024-25 approved rates: TPDDL 10.47%, BRPL 7.25%, BYPL 8.11%
PGVCL / MGVCL / UGVCL / DGVCL
Regulator: GERC — Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: GERC Case Nos. 2316–2328 of 2024 (eff. 01.06.2024) | MYT Regulations 2024 (April 2025–March 2030)
- ·Four zone-based DISCOMs under GUVNL holding company cover the entire state (PGVCL, MGVCL, UGVCL, DGVCL)
- ·GERC's June 2024 orders confirmed no change in scheduled tariff rates for FY2024-25 for state-owned DISCOM consumers
- ·FPPPA (Fuel & Power Purchase Price Adjustment) approved at ₹2.77/unit for FY2024-25 — among the lower national rates, attributed to Gujarat's high renewable energy mix
- ·Open access HT distribution losses reduced from 9.50% to 8.50% under the same order; GERC's 4th Control Period runs April 2025–March 2030
APSPDCL / APEPDCL
Regulator: APERC — Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: APERC Annual Tariff Orders — latest at aperc.gov.in
- ·Two DISCOMs serve AP: APSPDCL (Southern Power Distribution Company) and APEPDCL (Eastern Power Distribution Company of AP)
- ·Post-2014 state bifurcation: certain mandals were demerged from APSPDCL and transferred to Telangana's DISCOMs
- ·APERC publishes annual tariff orders for both DISCOMs — current HT industrial rate schedules are available at aperc.gov.in
TSSPDCL / TSNPDCL
Regulator: TGERC — Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission
Latest order: TGERC RST Order FY2023-24 + current year orders (tgerc.telangana.gov.in)
- ·Two DISCOMs serve Telangana: TSSPDCL (Southern) and TSNPDCL (North Telangana State Power Distribution Company)
- ·Annual RST (Retail Supply Tariff) orders include category-wise and month-wise consumer sales data as published annexures
- ·Current year orders for FY2024-25 and FY2025-26 are linked from the TGERC homepage under 'Current Year Tariff Orders'
Important: Specific energy charges (₹/kWh or ₹/kVAh) and demand charges (₹/kVA/month) are intentionally not listed on this page. These rates change with each SERC tariff order — sometimes mid-year — and presenting stale figures causes calculation errors. Always download the current tariff order PDF from the regulator's website before modelling your bill. Use Zerowatt's tariff calculator once you have the current rates.
Free Tool
HT Bill Calculator
Estimate your monthly HT electricity bill with slot-level TOD breakdowns, demand charges, fuel cost adjustment, and electricity duty. Enter the rates from your SERC tariff order to get an accurate figure.
Zerowatt Platform
Stop Calculating. Start Saving.
The tariff calculator tells you what you owe. Zerowatt's AI tells you how to owe less — automatically flagging TOD shift opportunities, PF corrections, and demand spikes in real time.