The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is making an effort to track down all power bill defaulters and persuade them to participate in its latest one-time settlement (OTS) scheme.
The initiative is part of a drive to bring down the arrears which have mounted to ₹3,585.69 crore. The KSEB management has issued a set of operational guidelines for the OTS scheme which requires district-level officers to identify and contact all defaulters. All defaulters “shall be identified, traced and informed” about the OTS. Even if the defaulters are out of station, their whereabouts should be ascertained through their local contacts and relatives, according to the guidelines.
Rising arrears
The KSEB had launched the latest OTS scheme with the approval of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission after the arrears climbed to a whopping ₹3,260.09 crore as on March 31 this year. As per the latest figures published on June 30, they have risen to ₹3,585.69 crore.
According to KSEB officials, part of the quantum of arrears go back 15 years, and the whereabouts of several of these defaulters are hazy. The IT wing at the KSEB headquarters has been directed to prepare lists of the defaulters at the levels of the panchayats, KSEB electrical sections, electrical circles and electrical divisions. In the districts, the Chief Engineer in charge of each district will monitor the progress of the OTS.
Reduced rates
The scheme, approved by the regulatory commission in July, is open till December 30. Defaulters are eligible for reduced rates of interest instead of the 18% normally levied by KSEB on arrears. The interest rate will be as follows: arrears older than 15 years (4%), arrears between five years and 15 years (5%), arrears older than two years and below five years (6%). Arrears under litigation can also be settled under OTS-2023 subject to conditions.
