Centre introduces Time of Day Tariff and Simplification of Smart Metering rules

New Delhi, June 23 (KNN) The central government has amended the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 and announced Time of Day (ToD) Tariff, and rationalization of smart metering provisions.

Rather than being charged for electricity at the same rate at all times of the day, the price you pay for electricity will vary according to the time of day, said the Ministry of Power.

Under the ToD Tariff system, Tariff during solar hours (duration of eight hours in a day as specified by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission) of the day shall be 10%-20% less than the normal tariff, while the tariff during peak hours will be 10 to 20% higher.

ToD tariff would be applicable for Commercial and Industrial consumers having Maximum demand of 10 KW and above, from 1 April, 2024 and for all other consumers except agricultural consumers, latest from 1 April, 2025.

Time of Day tariff shall be made effective immediately after installation of smart meters, for the consumers with smart meters.

Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh said that the ToD is a win-win for consumers as well as the power system.

"The TOD tariffs comprising separate tariffs for peak hours, Solar hours and normal hours, send price signals to consumers to manage their load according to the Tariff. With awareness and effective utilization of ToD tariff mechanism, consumers can reduce their electricity bills. Since solar power is cheaper, the tariff during the solar hours will be less, so the consumer benefits," he said.

During non-solar hours thermal and hydro power as well as gas based capacity is used – their costs are higher than that of solar power – this will be reflected in Time of Day Tariff. 

"Now consumers can plan their consumption in order to reduce their power costs – planning more activities during solar hours when power costs are less," he added.

The Union Minister said that the ToD mechanism will also ensure better grid integration of Renewable Energy sources thereby facilitating faster energy transition for India.

"The ToD tariff will improve the management of renewable generation fluctuations, incentivize demand increase during the periods of high RE generation hours and thereby increase grid integration of larger quantity of renewable power," he said.

Most of the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) have already implemented ToD tariffs, for large Commercial and Industrial (C&I) category of consumers in the country. With installation of smart meters, the ToD metering at domestic consumer level will be introduced as per Tariff Policy mandate.  (KNN Bureau)