Himachal govt optimises 913 power connections, saving Rs 6.72 crore annually

The Himachal Pradesh government has achieved an annual saving of Rs 6.72 crore by rationalising the contract demand (load capacity) of electricity connections provided to various government buildings across the state in the first phase.

“A total of 913 government electricity connections, covering categories such as agriculture, bulk supply, commercial supply, Jal Shakti Vibhag, large industrial supply, non-domestic non-commercial, small industrial and temporary supply, were optimised. This reduced total demand charges from Rs 2.05 crore to Rs 1.49 crore per month, resulting in substantial savings to the state exchequer,” informed a state government spokesperson here on Monday.

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The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in Shimla earlier had a contract demand of 1350 kVA, which was brought down to 858 kVA, saving about Rs 24 lakh per year, he added.

He further said that Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu observed that several departments were paying higher demand charges compared to their actual consumption. Acting on his directions, the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd. (HPSEBL) undertook a comprehensive exercise to align the contract demand with the actual load capacity of government buildings, he added.

As per the Chief Minister’s instructions, the process, usually handled at the electrical sub-division level, was expedited under the supervision of the then Chief Secretary, he stated.

“A series of meetings between HPSEBL and departmental representatives led to a one-time, state-wide review coordinated by the Chief Electrical Inspector, who compiled a list of all government electricity consumers. The contract demand for each connection was capped at 10 percent above the maximum recorded demand observed during the previous year, considering both summer and winter peaks,” he said, adding that a specially designed Application and Agreement (A&A) form was jointly executed by authorised government and HPSEBL officials, enabling the IT Wing of HPSEBL to implement the revised limits.

The A&A forms were finalised in June 2025, and by August 2025, the government had already realised savings of Rs 56 lakh in a single month due to the reduced demand charges, he said, adding that these savings will continue to accrue every month.

The Chief Minister lauded the initiative and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to carrying out similar rationalisation exercises across other sectors to minimise unnecessary expenditure and promote prudent financial management.