Former Member of Parliament and president of Puducherry Maanila Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam M. Ramadass has requested the Puducherry government to prepare a strong case against imposition of regulatory surcharge of 10 per cent by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission in the Union Territory.
He said in a statement that regulatory surcharge was considered necessary to mobilise resources to recover the past losses (regulatory assets) accumulated over the years and manage day-to-day expenses. An amount of ₹238 crore was proposed to be collected as regulatory charge. The imposition would burden the present consumers for the losses incurred during the previous years, he said.
The power consumers of Puducherry are put to hardship because of the inefficiency of the Electricity Department. The recent tariff hike was intended to tide over the gap in the revenue and expenditure associated with the business of procuring, transmitting, distributing and retail supply of electricity. The JERC has estimated an expenditure of ₹2,409.74 crore and a revenue of ₹2,358.36 crore for the financial year 2025-26 leaving a revenue deficit of ₹51.38 crore. The Commission has recommended the hike to bridge this revenue deficit of ₹51.38 crore, he said.
“There are better and prudent ways to deal with the deficit. The territory’s budget or the supplementary budget for 2025-26 could have set aside funds to tide over the deficit. The department should adopt proactive steps, including a technology upgrade, to prevent power theft. Steps should also be taken to recover part of ₹500-crore dues and reduce the cost of purchase of electricity. People should not be burdened with frequent power tariff hikes,” he said.
Published – November 10, 2025 08:52 pm IST
