Domestic consumers blamed for power consumption

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Even as the KSEB is yet to submit its tariff petition, various consumer categories of the power utility have blamed domestic consumers for ‘reckless power consumption’ and demanded urgent revision of the electricity tariff.Industrial and bulk consumers of the power utility are also bristling at a KSEB move to exempt majority of the domestic consumers from the power regulations it has proposed for the 2012-2013 fiscal. Industries represented by the Kerala HT/EHT Industrial Consumers Association has criticised the KSEB for excluding Rs 98.6 percent of the consumers, who are responsible for 97 percent of total consumption’ from the purview of the proposed restrictions.The KSEB has suggested restriction of power supply to 85 percent at normal tariff and the rest at market rates to all consumers except domestic and subsidised categories, and has fixed 300 units a month as ceiling for the domestic category. Consumption beyond 300 units would be charged at market rates. But this ceiling excludes majority of the domestic category from the proposed regulations and should be scrapped, the association said.“In effect, KSEB is proposing a 15 percent restriction on every other consumer, but only a three percent restriction on domestic sector, even though domestic consumers account for 48 percent of total consumption and are the highest cost to serve consumers. The obvious conclusion is that the KSEB is trying to recover its unjustifiable hike in employee costs through stealthy imposition of virtual tariff hike on select category of consumers alone,” association vice-president A R Satheesh has petitioned the regulatory commission.  The Southern Railway, a bulk consumer of the KSEB, has demanded the Commission to suo moto revise the electricity tariff. The Southern Railway has pointed out that the Electricity Act prohibits power utilities from showing undue preference to any consumer.Since the KSEB has failed to submit the tariff petition on time, the Regulatory Commission should “exercise their suo motu powers and initiate tariff revision proceedings accordingly,” the Southern Railway requested the Commission last week.