Bengaluru electricity consumers will face higher bills for the next three months as the Energy Department passes on the increased cost of power procured from the open market to meet peak demand in September. Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) Managing Director N Shivashankara announced that the Fuel Purchase Price Cost Adjustment (FPPCA) charge will be approximately 0.5 paise per unit for the period from September to November, appearing as a separate line item on electricity bills.
Shivashankara explained that while power is typically purchased at Rs 6 to Rs 6.15 per unit, a nationwide surge in demand during September forced the department to buy electricity from the open market at Rs 10 per unit. This additional expenditure is being recovered from consumers in a phased manner. To address the rising strain on the grid, the Energy Department plans to issue an advisory urging citizens to stagger their electricity usage. A senior official noted that managing morning and evening peak loads has become challenging, and the advisory will request residents to operate washing machines, air conditioners, and other major appliances during non-peak hours to ensure a more even distribution of power consumption throughout the day.
The department is also in discussions with the Agriculture Department to encourage farmers to avoid cultivating summer and water-intensive crops until the situation stabilizes. Peak power demand for the 2026-27 fiscal year was recorded on September 11 at 20 gigawatts (20,000 MW), surpassing the previous year’s summer peak of 18,650 MW. Shivashankara stated that the system can handle a peak demand of 20,000 MW plus an additional 2,000 MW load, beyond which management becomes difficult and dependent on power availability.
Recent data indicates that power consumption has also risen in October. Daily consumption over the past few days has ranged between 340 million units (MU) and 360 MU, with figures standing at 339 MU on Saturday (October 17) and 362 MU on Friday (October 16), before dipping to 282 MU on Sunday (October 18). Additionally, Energy Department data reveals that approximately 1.3 lakh consumers have opted out of the Gruha Jyothi guarantee scheme, one of five guarantees introduced by the Congress government, out of the state’s 1.65 crore beneficiaries. A senior government official confirmed that verification for the scheme will conclude on October 31, and those who have not completed registration or have opted out will be excluded when registration for new consumers begins. The government has also clarified that only voters in Karnataka are eligible for the scheme, leading the department to seek voter ID details from applicants.
