Agartala, July 14, 2025: Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Monday addressed growing public concerns over recent electricity bill hikes and the ongoing installation of smart meters across the state, asserting that the moves are both necessary and in line with national policy.
“Deliberate misinformation is being spread to mislead people. There’s a difference between electricity tariff and billing. Tariff changes are done based on proper regulatory procedure—not arbitrarily,” said Nath while briefing media persons at BJP state headquarters here in Agartala city on Monday afternoon.
Citing historical data, Nath pointed out that during the Left Front’s rule, electricity tariffs increased sharply by 116.03% over their last seven years in power, while under the current BJP-led government, the cumulative increase over the last seven years has been 24.93%. “In 2010, there was a 62% tariff hike. In 2013, it went up again by ₹1.46 per unit. These decisions were taken under the Left regime,” he stated.
Nath added that in 2020-21, a rebate of 2.34% was given, followed by hikes of 7% in 2023-24 and 7.15% in 2024-25. This year’s hike is 10.78%, still within the 25% limit set by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Smart meters are being installed in accordance with the amended Electricity Act, 2003 (Section 55(2)), which mandates prepaid smart metering across all communication-enabled areas by July 17, 2027, as per Central Government guidelines. “So far, 94,075 smart meters have been installed. Households using smart meters can save up to ₹5,000 annually,” Nath said.
Tripura has 10.26 lakh electricity consumers, of which meters have been installed in every minister’s residence and office, and also at homes of 2,700 Power department staff.
“Under the Rights of Consumers rules, no new connection can be given without a smart prepaid meter. It is the safest and most transparent way forward for genuine consumers,” Nath emphasized.
Responding to complaints about bill spikes, the Minister provided actual bill examples: A household using 159 units should be billed ₹1,136. They pay only ₹1,000 due to ₹86 subsidy and ₹50 rebate. The remaining ₹123 is due to the new tariff, with an additional ₹100 as arrears; and A consumer using 412 units faces a bill of ₹3,241 but pays ₹3,005 after a ₹86 subsidy, ₹150 rebate, and may get ₹10 more off if opting for digital billing. The remaining ₹318 covers past arrears.
Nath clarified that 1 unit of electricity costs ₹10.67 to produce, while the state collects only ₹7.86 per unit from consumers. “Even after the 77 paise increase, a gap of ₹2.05 per unit remains. The Commission has mandated that the increase not exceed 25%,” he said.
He also attributed rising costs to global market fluctuations, noting that in 2010, a UPA government’s policy linked natural gas pricing to the dollar, which has since risen from ₹45.73 to over ₹86. “We are now buying gas in dollars. However, after we came to power, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas capped the price at ₹6.50 for ONGC and Indian Oil.”
From October, 2025, high-tension (HT) and low-tension (LT) lines will go underground in areas like Agartala, Khumulwng, Dharmanagar and Udaipur, to improve service reliability and reduce power losses.
Nath concluded, “Despite challenges, we are working for consumer benefit. Smart meters and realistic tariffs are part of a long-term solution—not a short-term burden.”
Minister was accompanied by Pradesh BJP Spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty and Media In-Charge Sunit Sarkar in the press conference.
