A public hearing held here on Wednesday on the proposals to revise electricity tariffs intermittently relapsed into shouting matches between sections of the participants, even as a general demand arose that the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) reject the proposals which include a first-of-its-kind ‘summer tariff.’
The hearing was the fourth and final one organised by the KSERC on proposals filed by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for revising the retail supply tariffs for the fiscals from 2024-25 to 2026-27. In a rare move, KSEB chairperson and managing director Biju Prabhakar appeared before the Commission to make a presentation on the power sector scenario of the State.
Mr. Prabhakar’s remarks on dearness allowance for KSEB employees, however, sparked protests from a section of the participants. The commotion persisted despite multiple warnings by Commission chairperson T.K. Jose. Protests erupted intermittently throughout the day-long hearing, causing delays and prompting police officers stationed at the venue, the Panchayat Association Hall at Vellayambalam, to intervene.
The fourth hearing, which saw heavy turnout, was held amid reports of a widespread social media campaign urging people to attend and oppose a possible tariff hike. Earlier this month, the Commission had held similar hearings at Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Ernakulam.
Summer tariff slammed
Consumer groups slammed the KSEB proposal to hike the overall power tariffs by 30 paise on an average in 2024-25, and in particular, a move to introduce a ‘summer tariff’ of 10 paise per unit for consumption during January-May “in addition to the normal retail tariff increase.”
The Kerala Domestic Solar Prosumers Community (KDSPC) alleged that the move to introduce summer tariffs was contradictory to the spirit of the National Tariff Policy and the Electricity Act. Besides, the KSEB has not furnished any “real data” to support its proposal, the KDSPC said.
Consumers demanded that the KSEB implement organisational reforms to cut down operational expenses, rationalise staff strength, and recover power bill arrears running into approximately ₹3,000 crore before proposing a tariff hike. Further, they opposed the move to introduce time-of-day billing for prosumers, alleging that it is in conflict with the Commission’s Renewable Energy and Net Metering (Regulations), 2020. They also objected to hiking the fixed charges and demanded that the bi-monthly billing system be replaced with a monthly one. A suggestion was also made that the Commission should hold hearings in all 14 districts. The Aam Aadmi Party requested the Commission to prevent the KSEB from transferring the burden of its “lapses and mismanagement” to the electricity consumers.
Bill in Malayalam
The Commission urged the KSEB to explore the option of providing electricity bills in Malayalam to consumers who request it.
Reserve Bank of India, Kerala Small Scale Industries Association , Seafood Exporters Association of India, People’s Relief Forum, Kerala Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, MRF, Kerala Service and Utility Consumer Engineers, KSEB Seniors Forum and Council of CBSE Schools, Kerala, were among the participants. Commission members B. Pradeep and A.J. Wilson also were present.
Published – September 11, 2024 09:57 pm IST