The high tension (HT) and extra-high tension (EHT) power consumers have strongly objected to Kerala State Electricity Board’s request to the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission to increase the allowable manpower strength from 27,175 in 2008-09 to 33,371 as of 2017-18. This represents a 22.8% rise in manpower over the last nine years, said Nandkumar Nair, vice-president of HT and EHT Industrial Electricity Consumers’ Association.Objections by the industrial consumers were raised at a recent hearing convened by the electricity regulatory commission after the KSEB petitioned it on December 6, 2021. The HT and EHT consumers account for around 27% of the energy supplied by the Kerala power utility and contribute about 34% to the revenue.
Impact on tariff, profit
The association is of the opinion that such a steep rise in manpower would not only hit the consumers in the form of a rise in tariffs but also affect the profitability of the power utility. The KSEB is seeking to raise manpower “without considering an organisational restructuring to cut unnecessary expenses”, said Mr. Nair. “Our members feel such a move would be detrimental not only to the consumers but also to the KSEB itself. Individual members of the association have expressed concern about the move,” he added.The industrial consumers said in their presentation that the KSEB was seeking not just redetermination of manpower strength for 2017-18 but also cost approvals till 2026-27. This implies that the utility plans to retain the strength of 33,371 till 2026-27. The industries requested the commission not to approve the numbers with retrospective effect.The large industrial consumers have also alleged that the KSEB had not implemented any of the manpower-related directives passed by the regulatory commission. The board has also been projecting big revenue gaps for the period between 2008-09 and 2017-18.
Per 1,000 consumers
The number of employees per 1,000 consumers at the KSEB in 2016-17 was 2.8, which was better than the all-India average of 3.18 employees per 1,000 consumers, the industries said in its presentation. However, in less than three years other States improved their position and the all-India average stood at 2.3 employees per 1,000 consumers, which means that KSEBL employee strength per 1,000 consumers is 9% more than the all-India average as in 2019-20, the industries claimed.
