Agartala: The Tripura government has ordered officials to stop collecting payments on electricity bills, dated May 2026 onwards, that were flagged as abnormally high, after weeks of highway blockades, gherao (encirclement) of power offices and a mass arrest drive left the state’s ruling coalition scrambling to contain the fallout.On August 10 alone, farmers’ body Samyukt Kisan Morcha said as many as 6,000 people were arrested in Agartala during a “Jail Bharo” protest called jointly by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and allied unions, as part of a wider agitation over a troubled smart-meter rollout and steep tariff hikes.The dispute has pitted Tripura’s current and former power ministers against each other in public. Current minister Ratan Lal Nath and his predecessor Manik Dey held back-to-back press conferences, each blaming the other’s tenure for a project that a state audit found had largely stopped working within months of installation. Caught in between are consumers across the state who say their bills bear no relation to how much electricity they actually use.Over the past two months, consumers from small shopkeepers to solar-powered households have reported bills that appear far more inflated than their actual electricity use. The Wire spoke to two of them directly; both received bills running into lakhs of rupees before the amounts were sharply revised downward.Bills running into lakhs, later revisedThe first such bill belonged to M/S Shefali Petroleum Agency, a commercial connection at Saidabari in Kumarghat sub-division. It recorded a contracted load of 1,740 kW, a fixed charge of Rs 3,48,000, energy charges of Rs 6,136.78 and electricity duty of Rs 26,552.42. The net payable after due date stood at Rs 3,96,075.Police resisting protesters during the “Jail Bharo” protest, Photo: Rahul Namasudra.Speaking to The Wire on August 13, agency owner Tapash Das confirmed, “The bill has been corrected after I raised a complaint at my local Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) office. I got the revised bill afterward and the revised amount came to Rs 16,400, something like that.” The original load figure of 1,740 kW was revised to just 8 kW.The second bill, for a domestic connection registered to Binoy Bhoshan Chakraborty at East Barjala in Agartala, showed a contracted load of 2,796 kW against actual consumption of only 151.17 units. Fixed charge alone was Rs 3,49,500, and the gross payable reached Rs 3,74,098. With the delayed payment surcharge added, it rose to Rs 3,81,224.Ashish Chakraborty, who manages the billing, said the household’s actual load was 7 kW. “Then it showed my load as being something above 2,000. That means they’ve applied the load of an entire factory in my house’s name,” he told The Wire on August 13. After he raised the issue, the bill was adjusted the same day to “Rs 8,000, something like that.”According to the Tripura Electricity Regulatory Commission (TERC), fixed charges for domestic and most commercial consumers were shifted to connected-load basis (Rs per kW per month) charges. Several abnormalities in the bills that triggered protests were, thus, linked to incorrect contracted load figures.Hidden charges that cost more than the powerIn Bishalgarh, social activist Nani Gopal Debnath paid Rs 4,000 in cash for a prepaid recharge on May 23, 2026, (Receipt No. 6626502) but received only 185.6 units. Of that amount, Rs 2,674 went toward usable balance, with the rest absorbed into clearing a reconciliation bill and arrears.Sharing the receipt, Debnath demanded, “Simply charge Rs 8, Rs 9 or Rs 10 per unit, but stop all these hidden charges in the name of bills.”Similar complaints have poured in from across the state. Priyanka Datta, a content creator from Amarpur sub-division, shared a video on her official social media handle on August 8. She said her family paid Rs 1,000 but received only 26 units. “Who in their right mind would pay Rs 1,000 for 26 units?” she asked.Protesters holding banners and flags during the “Jail Bharo” protest, Photo: Rahul Namasudra.Similar anomalies have surfaced across the state, hitting small businesses and domestic users alike. Across Bishalgarh, Amarpur and Dharmanagar, multiple consumers reported receiving single-digit units for prepaid recharges exceeding Rs 1,000. In several instances, businesses with near-zero consumption and even closed shops received bills upwards of Rs 500, with fixed charges and “sundry” fees entirely eating up their payments.Solar consumers have not been spared. Dipto Pal, who installed rooftop panels under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, saw zero difference between present and previous units, meaning he drew nothing from the grid, yet was billed Rs 861. Subradip Bhowmik noted that the first 100 units exported earn no credit, while every unit imported is charged at Rs 7-8 before duties and fixed charges.Server outages compounded the crisis. Nath during a press conference disclosed that around 1.5 lakh prepaid consumers failed to recharge because of server problems.Dharmanagar suffered a near-week-long blackout of both online and counter recharges. Similar failures hit Sekerkote, Darogabari and Teliamura, where a three-day outage later triggered one of the state’s largest highway blockades.Highway blockades and calls for power minister’s resignationHighway blockades, office gheraos and demands for the power minister’s resignation have marked the agitation through 2026.The most serious confrontation of the summer came on July 6 and 7 in Teliamura. A three-day failure of the prepaid recharge server left thousands unable to top up.Protest at the local power office escalated into a National Highway blockade in front of Teliamura Police Station. Several rounds of talks with the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Electricity DGM and police officers produced no immediate breakthrough. Accounts differ on whether a subsequent police baton charge took place.August brought the sharpest escalation. On August 7 and 8, hundreds of tribal cultivators at Longtharai Valley in Dhalai district marched to the Manu Electricity Office and laid siege to it.CPI(M) protest outside Bidyut Bhavan, Agartala. Photo: Rahul Namasudra.They demanded permanent removal of prepaid smart-meters, restoration of analog meters, correction of inflated bills and the resignation of the power minister.They then began an indefinite national highway blockade at Manu Ghat at 11 am. The standoff lasted more than three hours before the sub-divisional magistrate and superintendent of police negotiated a temporary withdrawal after assuring the crowd that their grievances would be escalated to TSECL’s senior leadership.The unrest continued to spread throughout mid-August. In Jirania, women consumers besieged the local electricity office after the system blocked high-value recharges and drained balances. Just days later, on August 12, hundreds of residents blockaded the road near Madhupur Higher Secondary School in Kamalasagar for over two hours, demanding the power minister’s resignation. The standoff only concluded when a senior TSECL manager issued a written assurance that no new bills would be generated and no connections severed until the billing dispute was thoroughly resolved.Opposition targets smart-meters and tariff hikesOn August 10, the CPI(M) and allied unions organised the largest single mobilisation in a statewide “Jail Bharo” campaign.On August 17, the party staged another protest march outside Bidyut Bhavan in Agartala. Addressing the gathering there, Dey stressed that electricity is an essential sector on which progress and livelihood depend.He accused the government of raising tariffs twice a year and of using the Union government’s “fuel charge” provision as a loophole that allows hikes without formal orders, so that consumers learn of the increase only when the bill arrives.Dey further criticised the sharp rise in fixed charges, noting that domestic fixed charges had jumped from Rs 60-80 in June to Rs 210-280 in the July-August bills, while commercial charges reached Rs 450-600. “This is neither a fuel issue nor a gas issue,” he said.He also pointed out that smart-meters are not mandatory under the Electricity Act, 2003, and that the Union power minister had recently stated in parliament that they remain optional. “Why is the state government forcibly imposing them on households through executive coercion?” he asked.Ex Power Minister addressing the crowd during the CPI(M) Protest on August 17 in front of Bidyut Bhavan in Agartala, Photo: Rahul Namasudra.Dey accused the government of allowing private companies to install meters, collect money and walk away, leaving consumers to pay Rs 7,500-Rs 10,000 for replacements, and of failing to collect hundreds of crores in dues from government departments while passing the burden onto ordinary consumers.Congress has also aggressively campaigned on the issue since late 2025. Echoing Dey’s critique, senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roy Barman demanded to know why the state government continues to present the installation process as compulsory when the Union power ministry has clarified otherwise.On August 12, Congress spokesperson Prabir Chakraborty demanded that the smart-meter policy be scrapped, that additional charges be withdrawn and that an independent probe be launched into TSECL’s billing practices.Turning to the power minister, he said, “Falsehoods are being cultivated under the BJP’s rule. Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath deserves a gold medal for spreading misinformation.”Coalition partner TIPRA Motha demands accountability or resignationThe clearest sign of how far the anger has spread came from within the ruling coalition itself. On August 11, the Minority Cell of TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance) Motha Party joined a deputation to TSECL’s Banamalipur electricity office and later met officials at Bidyut Bhavan.The cell’s chairman, Mohammad Saha Alam Miah, asked why the government had waited until public anger peaked before admitting server faults. He said, “If the server is faulty, then when an outcry has arisen from the people across the whole state of Tripura, why are you only saying the server is faulty right now? You could have given a statement about this earlier, sir. Then the public wouldn’t have faced this harassment, sir.”The delegation raised two concrete demands. Citing free-electricity schemes elsewhere, Miah argued, “We have seen in various states across India that in Delhi state, 200 units are given free, in Punjab 300 units are given free. We should offer free electricity across the whole of Tripura state.”TIPRA Motha Minority Cell deputation, Photo: Rahul Namasudra.He also cited a specific bill collected by the party, a customer who paid Rs 2,000 and received only 75 units, working out to Rs 27 a unit, and questioned why Tripura residents were suffering these costs when the state’s electricity was being sold to Bangladesh.Similarly, Kumari Pragya Debbarman, a member of Tripura’s erstwhile royal family who accompanied the deputation, told officials that the crisis had dragged on for months.“It should not get that much. Villages also have students, hospitals and other difficulties. In our ADC areas too there are many problems because of this server and smart meter,” Debbarman said.“Leaders and the government exist for the sake of ordinary people, but standing here today we have seen that the general public is facing such harassment that there are no words for it,” she added.However, officials promised refunds for any consumer who had overpaid and pledged to resolve the crisis within 10 to 15 days. The chairman closed with a warning that transcended party lines, “Politics is for five years, the chair is for five years. Every five years politics will come and go, the chair will change, that makes no difference.”Miah further said what mattered was standing by ordinary people. If the response fell short, “the people of the state, every single person, will come out onto the streets.”‘The present power minister has failed on every count’: BJP’s former state presidentOn August 17, Nath’s reported remark that “the more electricity demand rises, the more the bill burden will rise” drew sharp criticism even from within the BJP.Former state president of BJP Ronajoy Kumar Deb questioned the justification and listed the various charges appearing on bills: fixed charge, meter rent, electricity duty, fuel charge and “sundries,” calling them “nothing but a racket” to extract money from consumers while service remained poor.“The present Power Minister has failed on every count. He should resign,” Deb wrote, warning that continuing with him would cost the BJP-led coalition the 2028 election. He demanded an end to the multiplicity of charges and a return to a simple unit-based tariff, while urging strict action against non-paying government departments and power theft.Govt announces collection freeze, power minister blames left frontOn August 8, chief minister Manik Saha, back from Delhi’s core committee meeting, convened a late-night review meeting with Nath, senior TSECL executives and departmental secretaries.Saha directed the corporation toward a more proactive, customer-focused approach and pressed for faster resolution of the server failures. TSECL began offering the roughly 1.5 lakh prepaid consumers hit by server problems the option of paying outstanding recharge amounts in six monthly instalments.Meanwhile, at his press conference on August 11, Nath acknowledged the anger: “Regarding the bill issued after May, dissatisfaction has appeared among consumers over that bill. After seeing this, since our government is pro-people and consumer-friendly, we cannot remain silent.”He said a meeting had been held in the government’s “war room” involving the chief minister, finance minister, chief secretary and power secretary. “The government cannot remain a silent spectator, because we have accountability towards consumers. We are doing something for the interest of the consumers,” he said.Protesters from TIPRA Motha Party, Photo: Rahul Namasudra.Nath announced that officials at every level had been instructed not to collect payments on bills flagged as abnormally high dating back to May, pending investigation of each case. He stressed that tariffs are fixed by the independent TERC and explained the three components of a typical bill, fixed charge, Fuel and Power Purchase Cost Adjustment (FPPCA) and energy charge.Much of the press conference was devoted to rebutting opposition criticism. Nath accused rivals of “fishing in muddy waters” and of forgetting that the original smart-meter project began under the Left Front. He cited a 2015 work order and a state audit that found the contractors had missed deadlines, that only 34,300 of the meters ever communicated with the control centre, and that within two to three months even those lost connectivity.“Of those, only 34,300 smart meters were found capable of communicating with the control centre. 11,000 meters were never even installed,” he said. The CAG concluded the project resulted in infructuous expenditure of Rs 42.76 crore and undue favour to the contractor.On August 21, Nath announced a major relief measure. The state government has decided to provide 100% subsidy on the additional tariff increase approved by TERC for 2026-27.This means consumers will not have to bear the extra burden arising from the new tariff order. The subsidy will be applicable from May 2026. Those who have already paid the higher bills will get the excess amount adjusted in their bills for September, October and November.Nath said the government would spend an additional Rs 117.13 crore for this purpose, taking the total subsidy burden this year to around Rs 194.70 crore. He described the decision as unprecedented in the state’s history.Ex-power minister rejects blame, attacks privatisationOn August 12, Dey held a counter-press conference at the CPI(M) state office. He rejected the suggestion that the left front’s experimental rollout had drawn complaints at the time and argued that the ownership model, not the technology, was the source of the current crisis. Under the left front, TSECL itself had installed the meters through competitive tender and remained responsible for maintenance.He further elaborated that the post-2018 rollout handed over manufacturing, installation and maintenance to private companies such as Tata and Adani. “A huge game is going on here,” Dey said. He also noted that the state government holds 100% of TSECL’s shares and nominates its board, so it could not disown responsibility for decisions its own nominees had set in motion.TERC places its own position on recordTERC also placed its official position on record. It stated that TSECL had sought recovery of Rs 1,709.04 crore towards past revenue gaps, which would have resulted in an average tariff increase of about 147%. The Commission approved a much lower revenue gap of Rs 479.24 crore and allowed only Rs 117.77 crore as partial recovery to avoid a sudden tariff shock.Police resisting protesters during the “Jail Bharo” protest, Photo: Rahul Namasudra.In view of the recent crisis, TERC directed TSECL to install smart meters only with the consent of consumers, resolve billing issues arising from smart meter installation as priority, and put in place a mechanism for recovery of arrears through convenient instalments. It also ordered the corporation to strengthen the three-tier consumer grievance redressal system and hold regular public meetings.However, when The Wire approached TSECL Managing Director Biswajit Basu on August 18 seeking clarification on the reasons behind the abnormal billing, he disconnected the call just as the question was being asked. This is allegedly not an isolated instance. Local reporters in Agartala have also cited a pattern of unresponsiveness, alleging that TSECL director has previously spoken rudely or disconnected calls when questioned by the media.Still waiting for a broader solutionTripura’s electricity crisis remains only partially resolved. While the payment freeze and instalment facility continue, the state government on August 21 announced that it would fully subsidise the additional tariff increase approved by TERC. Consumers will therefore not have to pay the extra amount arising from the new tariff. No decision has yet been taken on rolling back the smart-meter programme itself.The CPI(M) has planned a further mass rally in Agartala in September. TIPRA Motha had earlier given the government 10 to 15 days from its August 11 deputation to deliver a broader solution.