KSEB on tariff increasing spree; tough times ahead for consumers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Surplus employees, big pensions, looming debt, and the generous salary taken by workers are plunging KSEB into unprecedented lows. The expenditure is Rs 2500 crore more than the income received this year. And now, to allay all such tensions, KSEB is weaving plans to place all burdens on the shoulders of poor consumers.

A shiver passes through the body watching the meter reader from KSEB busy recording the numbers and scribbling small bits into his paper. Every home in Kerala witnesses this shiver nowadays. For two months straight, apart from the skyrocketing unit charge, an additional surcharge is also being taken from consumers. KSEB has also requested the regulatory commission to increase the electricity tariff by Rs 40.63 per unit by July. However, the commission has hitherto stymied the request only for the HC intervention in the case that forced the commission to freeze all such reforms till the 31st of July. However, the additional Rs 20 paisa cess will continue. The myriad of all such charges takes along slowly the people of the state into the doors of penury.

According to KSEB, it all started with the regulatory commission canceling four big contracts which forced the department to buy electricity from private players, adding to the debt. However, KSEB is yet to grab the nerve to collect the Rs 3260.09 crore arrears from government departments. Water authority alone needs to pay KSEB a gargantuan Rs 1100 crore. The finance ministry has called for prudent intrusion into the case or else warned KSEB of slipping down into redundancy akin to what KSRTC is now.

• Rs 1243 will be increased for a single-phase connection while Rs 741 will be increased for a three-phase connection
• For fixing the Connection post, the amount will jump from Rs 5540 to Rs 7547
• The annual income of KSEB was registered as Rs 15,600 crore while the annual expenditure surpassed it with Rs 17945 crore.