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Minor changes in power tariff rates

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has spared domestic power consumers, commercial consumers and all except some power-intensive industrial consumers from a tariff hike.

The tariff schedule announced by the KSERC here on Monday is applicable from December 1 this year. It also includes some concessions to a couple of categories of Low Tension (LT) power consumers who have been paying high rates.

For railway traction, which was enjoying low tariff, the rates are being put on a par with normal Extra High Tension (EHT) consumers.

The only difference is that ‘time-of-the-day’ tariff, which is the norm for other EHT consumers, will not be applicable to Railways.

The rate per unit for power-intensive High Tension (HT) industrial consumers given connection after December 17, 1996 goes up from Rs.3 to Rs.3.50. Such power-intensive EHT industrial consumers too will have to pay more, the rate per unit going up from Rs.2.90 to Rs.3.40.

Both power-intensive HT and EHT consumers who have been allocated power after December 17, 1996 will have to continue paying a 100 per cent extra tariff for the energy consumed during peak time. This will apply to additional power required by the power-intensive units given connections before that date also. For LT III consumers (temporary connections for illumination, exhibition, etc.) the rate comes down from Rs.13.50 a unit to Rs.12 a unit. The daily minimum charge they will have to pay too has come down from Rs.1.35 to Rs.1.2 a kW connected load.

For LT VI © consumers (offices or institutions such as the Kerala Water Authority, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, etc.) the rate comes down from Rs.8.60 a unit to Rs.8.40 a unit for consumption exceeding 500 units a month. For lower levels of consumption, the rate remains unchanged at Rs.6.75 a unit.

KSERC chairman C. Balakrishnan, announcing the tariff schedule, said the good rain received this year had helped avoid an across-the-board tariff hike. The Kerala State Electricity Board had projected a revenue gap of Rs.430.11 crore for the current year, on the expectation that hydropower availability would be in the region of 6,400 million units.

Just before the last Assembly election, the then United Democratic Front government had reduced the power tariff for all categories of domestic consumers by Ps.20 per unit “without being authorised by the KSERC.” This tariff reduction, which places an annual financial burden of Rs.120 crore on the KSEB, has not been taken into record while preparing the new tariff schedule.

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