Thiruvananthapuram: The state power utility can raise surcharge on its own by only 10 paise per unit.
The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has issued an order fixing the power surcharge that can be collected by the the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) without prior permission from the former at 10 paise per unit.
If the surcharge is more than 10 paise in any month, a special application must be submitted to the Commission with the detailed accounts of the dues, when three months are completed. The Commission will decide how to collect this due amount after checking the evidence.
It is also clarified that the auditor should examine the expense accounts to collect the surcharge and that it must not be prepared and collected by the board itself. The KSEB has been so far collecting surcharges under the draft rules and used to obtain the Commission’s approval at the end of the year.
The new rules have been fixed by the power regulator after taking into account views of the public and other stakeholders at special evidence-collection sittings held recently.
Other stipulations
As the surcharge varies every month, the rules now fixed by the regulator states that domestic customers can be levied an average surcharge for two months on their bill issued in two months. This does not apply to those consumers who get their bills on a monthly basis.
There is no surcharge for those who only use non-conservative energy (Green tariff). The Commission would notify later how much the Green tariff is.
