Why is there a security deposit on my Andhra Pradesh electricity bill?
Your discom keeps a security deposit equal to two or three months of consumption charges. Once a year it checks the deposit against last year's bills. If the shortfall is more than 10%, it asks for an additional security deposit.
- Reviewed every year
- Top-up: additional security deposit
- Prepaid meters: no deposit
Check your deposit
How APSPDCL / APEPDCL / APCPDCL reviews the deposit
- The discom reviews the deposit generally once a year, preferably after the tariff revision.
- It uses your average consumption from April to March of the previous year.
- You must hold 3 months' consumption charges (bi-monthly billing) or 2 months' (monthly billing).
- Consumption charges include energy, fixed, FSA and customer charges.
- Additional security deposit = required deposit minus the deposit held.
- The discom does not ask if the shortfall is 10% of the existing deposit or less.
- The discom gives 30 days' notice with its calculations. You pay within 30 days.
- The discom does not give instalments. It may allow them against a bank guarantee.
- If you pay late, you pay a surcharge of 18% a year.
- If you do not pay, the discom can disconnect without further notice.
If you hold more than needed
- If the excess is more than 10%, the discom adjusts it against your dues and next bills.
Deposit for a new connection
- For a home above 250 W, the initial deposit is Rs 300 per kW or part (bi-monthly billing).
- With monthly billing, it is Rs 200 per kW or part.
- For a home up to 250 W, it is Rs 100 (bi-monthly) or Rs 80 (monthly).
- The discom reviews the initial deposit after 3 months.
- If it falls short of 3 months' average consumption, the discom gives one month's notice to pay the gap.
Interest and prepaid meters
- The discom pays interest at the RBI Bank Rate, or a higher rate that APERC sets.
- Each year it adjusts the interest against your dues on 1 May and later bills.
- Your bill shows the interest.
- If the discom is late, it pays twice the rate.
- A prepaid connection pays no deposit; on a move to smart prepaid, the discom credits your old deposit to the meter e-wallet after dues.
What we could not confirm
- A third-party listing mentions 2025 APERC directions on the additional security deposit. We found no official copy.
- We found no official notice of the current interest rate.
- APSPDCL's FAQ calls the top-up 'additional consumption deposit' (ACD). We found no official sample bill that shows the label.
Questions
Can I pay the additional security deposit in instalments?
Not as a rule. The discom may allow instalments if you give a bank guarantee.
Why did a new connection get a deposit demand after 3 months?
The discom reviews the initial deposit after 3 months. If it is short, you get one month to pay the gap.
What happens to my deposit if I move to a smart prepaid meter?
The discom adjusts the deposit against your dues. It credits the balance to the meter's e-wallet.
Sources
- APERC (Security Deposit) Regulation 2004 (consolidated to 30-06-2020), cl. 4(1), 5(1), 5(4), 5(6), 6(1)-(4), 7(1)-(4)
- APERC Regulation No. 3 of 2025 (Third Amendment), new cl. 4(3)(iii)
- APSPDCL FAQs, FAQ 12-13
Read on 16 October 2026.
ebbillcalc is not part of any discom or regulator. The regulations and your discom have the final word.