The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has issued an order regarding the additional surcharge payable by open-access consumers for the period from 1st April 2025 to 30th September 2025. The decision was taken by the commission in a meeting.
The concept of an additional surcharge for open-access consumers was first decided by the commission in 2014 after consultation with stakeholders. However, the methodology for computing this surcharge has undergone revisions over the years following appeals and petitions by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) and other stakeholders. In 2018, GUVNL and four state-owned DISCOMs approached the commission seeking a revision in the formula for computing the surcharge. At the same time, the Federation of Kutch Industries Associations and the Federation of Gujarat also filed a petition asking for clarity and regulation regarding the surcharge calculation.
The commission, in its order dated 30th August 2022, revised the methodology for calculating the additional surcharge payable by open-access consumers. It directed GUVNL to submit data certified by the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) and a Chartered Accountant every six months. This data forms the basis for calculating the surcharge applicable for future periods. For instance, data from April to September of one year is used to calculate the surcharge for the same months in the following year.
Following this directive, GUVNL submitted the required data for the period from 1st April 2024 to 30th September 2024. This data, verified by SLDC and a Chartered Accountant, was uploaded on the websites of GUVNL and the four state DISCOMs, ensuring transparency. The commission reviewed this data and applied the formula specified in its earlier order.
Based on the analysis, the commission has worked out the additional surcharge to be ₹0.82 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This rate will apply to consumers of the four state-owned DISCOMs—DGVCL, MGVCL, PGVCL, and UGVCL—who choose to avail power through open access from sources other than their respective DISCOMs during the period from 1st April 2025 to 30th September 2025.
In calculating the additional surcharge, the commission considered transmission and distribution losses and network-related costs as per the approved methodology. The decision accounts for the fixed costs associated with stranded capacity when consumers use open access and ensures that these costs are appropriately shared.
The order marks another step in regulating open access power usage in Gujarat while ensuring financial stability for the state DISCOMs. The surcharge aims to balance the need for consumer choice with the obligation of DISCOMs to maintain infrastructure and capacity. The commission concluded its decision on 17th March 2025 in Gandhinagar.
