'Summertime sadness'; KSEB proposes 25 per cent power tariff hike during night hours

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KSEB is salivating to reap profit in the summer when electricity consumption is expected to skyrocket in most houses. 25% surcharge will be charged for electricity consumption during the night. Those who keep the AC, fan and cooler on for sleeping will have to be careful or else will witness pockets getting drained.

Currently, the time of day (TOD) billing system covers those who use more than 500 units per month. In the last tariff revision, those who use 250 units were also included in this category. With this, 30 lakh out of 90 lakh domestic consumers will fall into this category. About 300,000 connections out of the newly included TOD do not have meters suitable for billing. An order has been placed for 5.4 lakh meters. TOD will be rolled out as soon as it is installed.

TOD is characterized by a 10% tariff from 6 am to 6 pm, a 25% surcharge from 6 pm to 10 pm and a normal rate from 10 pm to 6 am. With the spread of Purapura Solar, the day rate has been reduced to encourage the use of electricity during the day due to excess solar power being fed into the grid.

Though it will be a setback for domestic consumers, around 1.5 lakh small units like rice mills, grain grinding mills, small workshops, and tailoring units will benefit as electricity rates will be reduced by 10% during the day. However, there is a threat of a 50% surcharge from 6 pm to 10 pm.