Electricity consumers on Monday raised a slew of objections to the proposals made by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for hiking power tariffs in the State.
At the fourth and final public hearing organised by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission here, domestic and industrial category consumers termed the proposals unjustifiable and, in certain aspects, unsound.
The Federation of Residents Associations Kerala staged a protest outside the venue of the hearing against the tariff proposals, urging the commission not to approve the hike. Association representatives pointed out the mounting power bill arrears of the KSEB (as per the latest figures, ₹3,260.09 crore).
The KSEB had filed tariff revision proposals for the fiscals from 2023-24 to 2026-27. For 2023-24, the KSEB has proposed an overall hike (for all categories of consumers, that is) of 6.19%. For the LT Domestic category specifically, the increases proposed are 8.94% in 2023-24, 7.48% in 2024-25, 3.81% in 2025-26 and 0.25% in 2026-27.
Industrial bodies termed the hikes proposed in the industrial tariffs “unjustifiable”. The Kerala State Small Industries Association (KSSIA), Ernakulam district chapter, objected to the KSEB proposal to hike the LT-IV (Industry) tariff to ₹ 6.15 per unit. The KSSIA wanted it to be retained at ₹ 5.85 per unit.
MRF Ltd termed the proposal to increase off-peak energy costs by 20% ‘‘unscientific’‘ and harmful for industries operating 24x7. The Kerala Television Federation (KTF), representing various television channels, urged the commission not to hike the tariffs applicable to the television industry. The proposed increase will result in an increase of 8% in the monthly electricity bills in 2023-24, KTF said.
Meanwhile, KSEB officials said the proposals were designed to reduce the revenue gap of the utility while keeping in mind the need to avoid a ‘tariff shock’ for the consumers. The revision was essential for the financial stability of the State-run power utility, they said.
The commission also heard the views of the consumers on the green energy tariff of ₹2.54 per unit proposed by the KSEB. Further, the KSEB has been given time till Friday to file its comments on the views and objections raised by the consumers.
Last week, the commission had held public hearings in Kozhikode, Palakkad and Kochi.
