Domestic consumers are set to bear a heavy burden with the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission approving a hike in power tariffs on Monday. The hikes range from 10 to 30 paise per unit for those who consume less than 250 units a month, and from 40 to 50 paise for those who consume more than 250 units a month. The revised tariffs will be effective from Tuesday.
Below the poverty line consumers having up to 1,000 watts of connected load and with consumption of less than 40 units have been exempted from the tariff hike. The fixed charge for single phase connection is up from ₹20 to ₹30. The fixed charge for three phase connection has been hiked from ₹60 to ₹80.
The agricultural sector, already facing the brunt of the drought, has been spared from the hike. The tariff has not been increased for LT (low tension) and HT (high tension) categories already paying more than 120% of the average cost of supply. Private hospitals consuming up to 500 units will be given power at the rate of ₹5.50 a unit, given to government hospitals.
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There will be no hike in fixed charges for industrial connections with up to 10 kilowatts connected load. The energy charges for the LT 4-A category has been increased by 30 paise a unit. For the IT industry, the hike will be of 20 paise a unit.
The usual Railway Traction Energy Charge has been reduced for the Kochi Metro Rail Corporation, from ₹5.10 to ₹4.80 per unit. The tariff for public lights and traffic signals has been hiked from ₹3.60 to ₹4.10 per unit. Libraries with less than 100 units of consumption and with up to 2,000 watts of connected load will be given power at ₹1.80.
The commission, headed by T.M. Manoharan, had held seven public hearings across the State before finalising the tariff hikes. The commission went ahead with the hike as the KSEB had not submitted a hike proposal. The last power tariff hike was in 2014. The commission had arrived at the conclusion that the three previous tariff hikes in 2012, 2013 and 2014 had failed to contain the revenue deficits of the previous years, amounting to ₹4,944 crore.
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With the tariff hike, the commission expects the board to garner an extra revenue of ₹550 crore in 2017-18. This, combined with the surplus of ₹491 crore, is expected to reduce the revenue deficit by ₹1,041 crore.