Regulatory Commission to soon announce new hiked electricity tariffs in state

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The regulatory commission yesterday completed the inquisition process into the KSEB request for a 6.19% hike in electricity tariff in Kerala. The commission will soon announce the hiked tariff rate in the state. It still remains doubtful whether the commission accepted the KSEB demand of a 41 paisa hike per unit of electricity used or not.

The commission has also accepted the customer's request about inspecting the income and expenditure report of KSEB during the last financial year. It will take nearly two weeks time to complete that process. The KSEB had Rs 500 crore profit during the last calendar year. Meanwhile, the cost of electricity purchased from private players is also depleting on a yearly basis. Minding the profit run, many comments popped up from several districts questioning the sudden need for an increase in tariffs.

In Kerala, Business firms and media enterprises have a 25% discount for using electricity from night 10 to morning 6 am. KSEB wants a change and has requested for the discount to be as low as 10%. The business houses and media firms have countered the move and have asked the commission to drop the plan. Smalls-scale business houses protested to make the rate as low as Rs 5.85 per unit from the KSEB demanded Rs 6.15.

Even while the present run shows promise, the collective loss endured by the KSEB in former years accounts for a high price. The sudden increase in tariffs is aimed at narrowing the debt. The total loss accounts for Rs 3350 crores. KSEB looks for faster alleviation of such crises with the sudden increase in tariffs.