Parliament Question: Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.181 ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 AGGREGATE TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL LOSSES *181. DR. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN:

Will the Minister of POWER

be pleased to state:

(a) the current national average of Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses and the State-wise comparison thereof;

(b) the measures taken by the Government under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) to modernise distribution networks;

(c) the impact of technical losses on the financial health of State DISCOMs;

(d) the steps taken by the Government to strengthen feeder metering and smart-grid deployment in Karnataka; and

(e) whether any smart-metering pilot projects have been implemented in Davanagere district in Karnataka and if so, the details and outcome thereof? A N S W E R THE MINISTER OF POWER (SHRI MANOHAR LAL)

(a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *******STATEMENT STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.181 FOR REPLY ON 12.02.2026 REGARDING AGGREGATE TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL LOSSES ASKED BY DR. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN.

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(a) to (c): Electricity being a concurrent subject, supply and distribution of electricity to all consumers is within the purview of the respective State Government/ distribution utility. Government of India (GoI) has been supplementing the efforts of the States to improve the financial health of the distribution utilities including reduction in their Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses. This parameter comprises the technical loss which reflects the energy that could not be billed due to energy lost in the distribution network and the commercial losses as a result of theft, billing errors and collection inefficiency against the energy billed.

A key measure to improve the technical losses is to strengthen the distribution infrastructure for which GoI has supported States through financial assistance under schemes like Integrated Power Distribution Scheme (IPDS) and currently under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) to help achieve the objective of providing quality and reliable supply of power to all consumers.

IPDS was launched by the Government of India in December 2014 for strengthening of the distribution networks in urban areas of the country. Works amounting to Rs 58,686 crore were executed under the scheme.

RDSS was launched in July 2021, with the objective of providing reliable and quality power to consumers through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution sector. Under the scheme, projects worth Rs.

1.53 lakh crore for loss reduction infrastructure and Rs. 1.31 lakh crore for smart metering have been sanctioned based on proposals submitted by the States.

The following works to strengthen and modernize the distribution network

were sanctioned in the above schemes:  Works for creation of new/upgradation of substations including Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) Substations  Installation of new Distribution Transformers (DT) and augmentation of existing DTs ……..2.- 2 -  Replacement of old conductors  Underground of HT/LT lines  Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) works  Under RDSS, Pre-paid smart metering works covering 19.79 crore consumers and smart system metering works for 2.11 lakh feeders and

52.53 lakh DTs have been sanctioned. Till date, 4.19 crore smart meters have been installed under RDSS, and overall, 5.59 crore smart meters have been installed across the country under various schemes including 6.54 lakh smart meters under IPDS.

The works sanctioned under RDSS are at various stages of implementation. The IPDS stands closed as on March 2022.

Further, under RDSS, release of funds for distribution infrastructure is linked to performance of the distribution utilities against various parameters including AT&C losses. It is envisaged to nudge the utilities to take measures to improve their financial health.

With collective efforts of Centre & States/UTs and the reform measures taken, the AT&C Losses of distribution utilities have reduced from 22.62% in FY2014 to 15.04% in FY2025 at the national level. State–wise AT&C Losses as on 31.03.2025 is enclosed at Annexure.

(d) & (e) : Under IPDS, distribution infrastructure works amounting to Rs 2,352 Cr were implemented in the State of Karnataka. Executed works included new GIS substations, new/ augmentation of substation/ DT, underground cabling works etc.

Karnataka has not participated under RDSS. As reported by the State, 18,438 nos. of 11kV feeder energy meters have been installed. In addition, smart metering works are being carried out in the State as per KERC Regulations.

**********ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PARTS (a) TO (c) OF THE STATEMENT LAID IN REPLY TO STARRED QUESTION NO. 181 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON

12.02.2026 REGARDING AGGREGATE TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL LOSSES *********** AT&C Loss (%) as on 31.03.2025 State/ UT AT&C Loss (%) Andaman & Nicobar Islands 24.14 Andhra Pradesh 7.87 Arunachal Pradesh 46.20 Assam 15.44 Bihar 15.51 Chhattisgarh 14.25 Delhi 6.56 Goa 10.39 Gujarat 7.80 Haryana 11.76 Himachal Pradesh 19.44 Jharkhand 28.19 Karnataka 11.92 Kerala 6.61 Ladakh 26.82 Madhya Pradesh 22.76 Maharashtra 16.90 Manipur 12.90 Meghalaya 17.52 Mizoram 32.31 Nagaland 48.86 Odisha 17.81 Puducherry 14.72 Punjab 19.21 Rajasthan 15.18 Sikkim 21.84 Tamil Nadu 10.96 Telangana 19.84 Tripura 29.61 Uttar Pradesh 19.26 Uttarakhand 15.08 West Bengal 16.96 National 15.04 ***************