Assam electricity consumers’ body seeks 125 units of free power for poor households

The All Assam Electricity Consumers Association on March 7 said the newly announced electricity tariff for the 2026–27 financial year does not provide any real relief to consumers and demanded free power for poor households in the state.

In a statement issued after the tariff announcement by the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission, the association said the rates were retained despite widespread public objections to the proposal submitted by Assam Power Distribution Company Limited.

Convenors Ajay Acharya and Hillol Bhattacharya said that although the regulatory body did not increase the tariff following public protests, the existing rate structure has been maintained without offering any actual relief to consumers.

They claimed that the state government earned a profit of around Rs 400 crore from last year’s electricity tariff, which indicated that consumers had been charged in excess. In such a situation, the tariff should have been reduced this year instead of retaining the previous structure, they said.

The association also noted that several states, including Bihar and Delhi, provide a certain amount of electricity free of cost to consumers. However, despite public demand, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam has not introduced such a scheme.

The body has once again demanded that 125 units of electricity per month be provided free of cost to poor domestic consumers in the state.