46L Delhi households paid nothing in December for electricity bill; govt subsidy outlay set to cross Rs 4,000 crore | Delhi News

NEW DELHI: More than nine out of 10 households in Delhi availed themselves of power subsidy benefits in Dec 2025, marking the widest reach of the free electricity scheme so far. Over 73% of the households did not have to pay any bill at all last month.Last year also saw sustained coverage levels, with nearly 8 in 10 domestic consumers benefiting from the scheme on average — higher than in 2024 and 2023 — even as total connections rose to 63 lakh.

In a scheme announced by the then AAP govt in 2019, electricity in Delhi is free for households consuming up to 200 units a month. A 50% subsidy is given to those consuming 201 to 400 units. The rest pay applicable tariff rates.

On an annual average, consumers using up to 200 units numbered around 31 to 32 lakh in 2025, compared with about 30 lakh in 2024 and nearly 28 lakh the previous year.

In percentage terms, this segment alone accounted for roughly half of Delhi's domestic consumers in 2025, up from previous years. A comparison of monthly data for the three years shows that while beneficiary numbers fluctuated sharply across seasons, the overall coverage of the subsidy widened in absolute terms and remained broadly stable in percentage terms. Official estimates show Delhi had about 57 lakh domestic electricity consumers in 2023, rising to 60 lakh in 2024 and 63 lakh the next year.

Against this expanding base, the number of consumers availing the subsidy (those consuming up to 400 units a month) averaged roughly 43-44 lakh in 2023, 47-48 lakh in 2024 and close to 50-51 lakh in 2025. In percentage terms, this translates to about 75-76% coverage in 2023, 78-79% in 2024 and 79-80% next year.

In absolute numbers, beneficiaries crossed the 58 lakh mark in Nov and Dec 2025, the highest levels seen in the three-year period.

Dec 2025 alone recorded about 58.7 lakh consumers receiving subsidy benefits, which translates to 93% of the total 63 lakh domestic consumers, reflecting winter-driven lower power consumption.Even during peak summer, when usage typically rises and many households cross the 400-unit threshold, beneficiary numbers last year remained higher than in the previous two years. A look at category-wise data underlines this trend. Consumers using up to 200 units continued to form the backbone of the scheme.

In 2025, such beneficiaries ranged from about 18 to 19 lakh in the peak summer months to over 46 lakh in Dec. Those consuming between 201 and 400 units, in which one has to pay half the bill, consistently stayed between 12 to 23 lakh through the year. Compared with 2024, these numbers in 2025 were higher in most months, suggesting that even with increased appliance usage, a significant share of households remained within the subsidy net. In 2024, total beneficiary numbers peaked at 56.8 lakh in Dec, covering nearly 95% of the 60 lakh consumers. The annual average worked out to roughly 48 lakh beneficiaries, or about 80% in winter and 56 to 60% during peak summer. By contrast, 2023 saw lower absolute numbers, with the highest monthly beneficiary count touching about 51.6 lakh in Dec — roughly 90% of the then 57 lakh consumers. Seasonal variation remained a defining feature across all three years.

Subsidy coverage dipped sharply between May and Aug as use of ACs pushed many households beyond the 400 units. In Aug 2023, total beneficiaries fell to about 29 lakh, just over 50% of total consumers. The same month in 2024 and 2025 showed improvement, with around 38 lakh and 42.5 lakh beneficiaries, respectively, indicating better efficiency, behavioural changes or a gradual shift in consumption patterns.

A senior govt official said, "The largest share of beneficiaries continues to be households consuming up to 200 units, which indicates stable basic consumption levels despite an increase in overall electricity connections." "What is significant in 2025 is the consistency of the number of beneficiaries," another official said.Overall, the data shows that in 2025, nearly four out of every five domestic consumers in Delhi benefited from free or subsidised electricity at some point during the year. Accordingly, the city's electricity subsidy bill is set to touch a new high in 2025-26, with the total outgo likely to cross Rs 4,000 crore, according to govt sources. Govt earmarked Rs 3,849 crore for subsidy in the current financial year, about Rs 250 crore higher than the amount spent in 2024-25. The power department has sought an additional Rs 361 crore in the revised budget to clear pending subsidy dues.