Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Electricity users in Goa, already dealing with the recent tariff increase approved by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), will now face an additional burden as the State government has decided to recover the cost of public lighting through monthly power bills — with the levy applied retrospectively from October 1.
A notification issued by Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes states that a public lighting duty will now be imposed on electricity consumption and collected along with regular energy charges.
“The Government of Goa hereby levies, on the units of energy consumed, a public lighting duty at the rate specified for each consumer category in Schedule-A, with effect from October 1, 2025,” the order reads.
Under the new structure, domestic low-tension and agricultural LT consumers will pay 5 paise per unit, while all other domestic, commercial, and industrial categories will be charged 8 paise per unit.
The department also clarified the rounding formula: duty of 50 paise or more will be rounded up to the nearest rupee, while any amount below 50 paise will be treated as zero.
Exemptions will apply only to the low-tension low-income group and electric vehicle charging stations, which will not face this additional duty.
This comes even as JERC has already cleared the State’s proposal for a 4% electricity tariff hike for the current financial year and the next four years — up to 2029–30. Although JERC has directed that the revised tariffs take effect from October 1, the government has not yet issued a formal notification implementing the new rates.
