Gross injustice of meter rent

The strong protest against KSEB charging meter rent from consumers along with electricity bills did not start today or yesterday. According to the board, it started charging meter rent from 2002. Earlier, with relatively stable electricity rates, the meter rent didn't draw much attention. Consumers are now complaining about being charged rent even for meters they purchased and installed themselves. However, the Electricity Board is claiming that meter rent is charged only for meters installed by the Board. Nevertheless, the Board's own data reveals that it has collected a staggering ₹1532 crore from consumers as meter rent over the past 14 years.

This is not a small amount. Along with electricity charges, the board is collecting various other fees, including duty, fuel surcharge, and fixed charges. Meter rent is also being collected alongside these. Additionally, GST is also levied on the rent amount. The board is not even recognizing the injustice of charging GST every month on a permanently installed meter, regardless of how small the amount may be. The Regulatory Commission, which has the authority to review and immediately correct any unfair charges by the board, has yet to take any action on this matter. Despite numerous rate hikes, the Electricity Board's financial situation remains dismal. To improve it, they continue to increase rates repeatedly.

The groundwork for the next tariff hike was laid earlier. The Regulatory Commission had recently held statewide sittings to seek the opinions of consumers. Widespread protests arose during all the sittings against the board’s frequent tariff increases, which disregarded consumer interests. Despite these complaints, the indications are that preparations for the next hike are already underway. The Electricity Minister has also hinted at a tariff hike. Meanwhile, a move is underway to pass on the burden of providing pensions to retiring employees of the board to the consumers. The Board's position is that it cannot singlehandedly bear the pension liability. Instead, they view passing the burden to consumers as a solution, effectively squeezing them further!

While many states are competing to provide free electricity and water to a large section of the population, here, the prices of electricity and water are being hiked to unbearable levels for ordinary people. The Electricity Board cites the burden of buying power from external sources as the reason for tariff hikes. However, the Board itself is responsible for not increasing internal power generation and failing to develop new energy sources. The Board's decision to scrap 25-year power purchase agreements with lower tariffs, without foresight, has led to the current rate increase. Consumers are bearing the brunt of administrative failures. When implementing the next rate hike, the Board must show leniency by providing relief from the unfair meter rent charges.