TFP Bureau, Raipur, November 13, 2025: The Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee has sharply criticized the state government over the steep rise in electricity bills, alleging that the inflated charges have severely impacted household budgets. State Congress Communications Department President Sushil Anand Shukla said on Wednesday that citizens across the state have been distressed by the surge in power bills over the past three months and demanded that the government immediately reinstate the Half Electricity Bill scheme, introduced during the Bhupesh Baghel administration, to provide relief to the public.
Shukla pointed out that coal is a major input in power generation and that the recent reduction in coal cess has lowered production costs by nearly ₹400. He argued that electricity tariffs should also be reduced accordingly through adjustments in the Variable Cost Adjustment (VCA) rate.
“People paying more but getting less power,” says Congress
Accusing the government of negligence and profiteering, Shukla said that despite record-high tariffs, citizens are not receiving uninterrupted power supply. “Electricity prices in Chhattisgarh are the highest since the formation of the state, yet the public continues to face long power cuts,” he remarked. Rural areas, he said, are facing outages lasting eight to nine hours daily, forcing villagers to protest against the erratic supply.
The Congress leader alleged that the government’s decision to discontinue the Bili Bill Half scheme has caused power bills to more than double. “Because of the government’s failure and profiteering policies, power cuts and high tariffs have become unbearable for ordinary citizens,” he said.
“Coal, water, land are ours — yet power at highest rates”
Shukla also condemned what he called the BJP government’s “unjust and exploitative” electricity policies. “The coal is ours, the water is ours, the land is ours — yet electricity is being sold to our people at exorbitant rates,” he said, accusing the government of burdening citizens despite declining production costs.
The Congress Party has urged the state government to roll back the recent tariff hikes and restore the Half Electricity Billscheme, asserting that immediate action is needed to bring relief to lakhs of affected consumers across Chhattisgarh.
