Says “Tariff raised at lowest possible rate after four years”
PDP, Apni Party protest in Srinagar
Tarigami Says “Issue will be raised in Assembly”
BJP announces Sep 2 Secretariat gherao over power tariff
Srinagar: The 6.83 per cent increase in electricity tariffs in Jammu and Kashmir has triggered a political confrontation, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah defending the hike as a “compulsion”, opposition parties demanding its rollback and CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami warning that the government will have to answer for the additional burden on consumers.
The revised tariffs, approved by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), will come into effect from September 1, 2026, and remain applicable till March 31, 2027. The increase varies across consumer categories.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar on Monday, CM Omar Abdullah said his government had opted for the lowest possible increase and pointed to previous tariff revisions during earlier governments.
“Those pointing fingers at me should remember that they have also been in power at some point,” Abdullah said, referring to the previous PDP-BJP coalition. He said the power tariff had been raised by around 14 per cent during that tenure and by 15 per cent four years earlier.
“We have only raised tariff by 6 per cent, and that too after four years,” he said.
The Chief Minister attributed the latest increase to rising inflation and the higher cost of other goods and services, saying the government was not celebrating the hike but had been compelled to take the measure.
He also linked the need for tariff revisions to losses in the power distribution system, saying that greater reduction in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses would reduce the need for such measures in the future.
On the government’s electoral commitment to provide 200 units of free electricity to poor and needy households, CM Omar said the promise did not mean that electricity tariffs would never increase.
“When did we say that the electricity tariff would not increase?” he said, adding that the government had committed to providing 200 free units to eligible households.
CM Omar said the government intended to implement the free-power commitment through solar panels under the Muft Bijli Yojana, and maintained that the tariff increase and the free-electricity scheme were separate issues.
The tariff hike, however, drew protests from opposition parties in Srinagar on Monday.
PDP leaders and workers assembled outside the party office near the General Post Office and raised slogans against the 6.83 per cent increase. Protesters attempted to march towards Residency Road but were stopped by police personnel deployed for law-and-order arrangements.
The Apni Party also held a protest at Press Enclave near Pratap Park, demanding immediate rollback of the tariff increase and urging the National Conference-led government to fulfil its commitment of providing 200 free electricity units to households.
Apni Party workers also attempted to march on the main road but were stopped by police.
CPI(M) leader and Kulgam MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami has separately announced that he will raise the issue in the forthcoming Assembly session.
Speaking to reporters in Kulgam on Sunday, Tarigami said the government would have to explain the rationale behind increasing the financial burden on people already facing inflation.
He said people were waiting for the fulfilment of commitments made in the government’s manifesto, particularly those related to electricity, and urged the administration to find ways of providing relief rather than adding to household expenses.
Referring to recent protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir over increases in flour prices and electricity charges, Tarigami said governments should draw lessons from such developments and remain sensitive to the economic difficulties faced by ordinary people.
Tarigami said he had voted for the present government and would continue to support it, but stressed that such support came with an expectation that the government would fulfil its commitments to the people.
Meanwhile, the BJP Jammu and Kashmir unit has announced a major protest against the National Conference-led government on September 2 in Srinagar.
BJP J&K State Co-Media In-charge Advocate Sajid Yousuf Shah told Kashmir Horizon that around 10,000 party workers, civil society members, students, trade unions, fruit unions and representatives of other groups are expected to participate in a proposed Secretariat Gherao March.
The protest is scheduled to begin at 10 am from Lal Chowk, from where participants will march towards the Civil Secretariat.
The BJP said the protest would focus on the electricity tariff hike, alleged 24,000 backdoor appointments, corruption and what it termed administrative misgovernance.
The widening political debate over electricity tariffs comes as consumers prepare for the revised rates from September 1.
While the government maintains that the increase is limited and necessary, opposition parties have argued that the tariff hike runs contrary to expectations of relief and the electoral promise of free electricity.
