Power tariff hiked by 20 paise per unit in Kerala; BPL consumers exempted

Thiruvananthapuram: The power tariff has been hiked by 20 paise per unit in Kerala after the State Electricity Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved a submission in this regard.

The Commission granted approval for the tariff hike proposed by the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) with retrospective effect from November 1, according to an interim order.

However, the hike is not applicable to the domestic consumers belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) category, the Commission sources said.

Orphanages, old-age homes and IT and IT-related industries are also exempted from the tariff hike, they said.

As per the new tariff, domestic consumers who use upto 100 unit of electricity per month, would have to shell out an additional Rs 20, as per the order.

In the order, Commission said it had taken note of the views expressed by the stakeholders regarding the tariff increase proposed for domestic category.

Duly taking into consideration the views expressed by the majority of consumers, the Commission decided to reject the proposal of KSEBL to reduce the limit of telescopic tariff from 250 units to 200 units, it said.

"However, considering socioeconomic reasons, the Commission propose an average increase of Rs 0.20/unit only (including energy charge and fixed charge) for domestic consumers with monthly consumption upto 250 units," the order said.

Slamming the power tariff hike, the opposition Congress said the LDF government was challenging the people of the state through the hike.

The Leader of Opposition the state Assembly V D Satheesan alleged that the power tariff hike was a move to cover the loss suffered due to the mismanagement and corruption by the government and it cannot be accepted.