Power tariff to rise by 9 paise per unit in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Electricity charges in the state would go up by 9 paise per unit for a period of four months, starting from February 1.
Kerala state electricity regulatory commission has issued orders in this regard considering the surcharge petition filed by Kerala state electricity board demanding permission to recoup the additional financial expenses it incurred for purchasing high-cost power from April to June 2022.
The fuel surcharge is applicable to all consumers, including the consumers of KSEB, and all other licensees except the domestic consumers with connected load of 1,000 watt or below and a monthly consumption of 40 units or below. By collecting 9 paise per unit as fuel surcharge, the board is expected to collect Rs 87.07 crore in four months.
The board had in fact asked the commission for permission to collect 14 paise per unit as surcharge from consumers for the said period. Though the board had also placed before the commission requests for permission to collect surcharge of 3 paise per unit to collect the additional money it spent for power purchase during the previous months-from October 1, 2021 to December 31 and January to March in 2022. However, the commission refused to consider those surcharge petitions but agreed to recognize the additional expense later during the truing up of the KSEB accounts.
Meanwhile, electricity minister K Krishnan Kutty said the KSEB sought permission to collect surcharge from consumers as it was forced to draw high-cost power during the time when the country was facing severe coal shortage. The minister said it was following the instructions of the Union government that the coal-based power generating stations imported coal from abroad, leading to higher expenditure on fuel. “It is the additional money that KSEB has already paid is now going to be collected from the consumers,” he said, adding that the rule 87 of Electricity Act stipulates that the fluctuations in fuel price should be adjusted in the power tariff.