THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tariff revision following the expiry of the current tariff on June 30, will take place within two weeks. The new tariff could not be announced that day due to the stay of the court. In the event that the court stay has changed, the new tariff may come into effect from October 1. The Chief Minister and the departmental minister had said recently that there would be no increase in the rate, but it was about the electricity being bought from outside at exorbitant prices.

KSEB had approached the Regulatory Commission months ago seeking permission to increase the charges. The businessmen approached the High Court against this. The judgment was passed on this petition last day. The High Court has not completely blocked the increase, instead, it has suggested that the board's liability to the employees' pension fund should not be recovered through the tariff increase. The approval of the regulatory commission on the application of the board may be obtained before the 30th of this month. The commission is unlikely to approve the same rate hike as the board is seeking. The revenue deficit of the board approved by the regulatory commission is 2939 crores for the financial year 2023-24.

40 paise per unit

The electricity board has demanded an average increase of 40 paisa (6%) each in the current financial year and the next financial year, and 20 paisa (3%) and 5 paisa (1%) in the following two years. That is an average of 1.05 rupees in four years. The rate declared by the commission will be less than this.