Punjab Newsline, Shimla-
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, reducing total demand charges from Rs 2.05 crore to Rs 1.49 crore per month. This will result in substantial annual savings to the State exchequer.
For instance, the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Shimla, earlier had a contract demand of 1350 kVA, which was brought down to 858 kVA, saving about Rs. 24 lakh per year.
A state government spokesperson said that Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu observed that many departments were paying higher demand charges compared to their actual consumption. Acting on his directions, the HP State Electricity Board Ltd. (HPSEBL) carried out an extensive exercise to realign contract demand with the actual load capacity of departmental buildings.
As per the Chief Minister’s instructions, the process, normally carried out at the electrical sub-division level, was expedited under the supervision of the then Chief Secretary. 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 consumers.
The contract demand for each connection was capped at 10 percent above the maximum recorded demand observed during the previous year, accounting for both summer and winter peaks. A specially designed Application & Agreement (A&A) form was then 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. These savings will continue to accrue every month.
The Chief Minister has lauded this initiative and reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to undertake similar rationalisation exercises across other sectors to reduce unnecessary expenditure and ensure prudent financial management.