Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) still navigates troubled waters, despite raising the power tariffs and imposing a surcharge on consumers to stay afloat amid a financial crunch.
The crisis, which even threatens to affect the payment of monthly pensions to retired employees, is attributed primarily to incompetent financial management. Several top posts, including that of the Finance Director, are lying vacant and being temporarily handled by other officials. The Board currently has just one Director as its permanent member, besides the Chairman.
The inefficient financial administration, coupled with the acute fiscal crisis faced by the State Government, has further aggravated the situation. Things have come to such a pass that the Board now faces the prospect of borrowing money to meet its monthly pension requirements.
The dues by consumers, including that of government departments, are estimated to be a whopping Rs 3250 crore. Of this, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) alone accounts for about Rs 1600 crore. Though the government took over the power dues for 2018 and paid the amount in different instalments, Rs 60 crore has also been pending on this account.
The Board, meanwhile, is also due to receive Rs 186 crore for the power supplied to the agriculture sector. The Board’s annual income is around Rs 18000 crore while the long-term loans it owes amount to around Rs 7000 crore. The annual repayment alone works out to Rs 500 crore.
Besides the long-term loans, it also owes a handful of short-term loans worth around Rs 2000 crore. Instead of long-term loans, the Board is depending heavily on short-term loans for meeting its temporary fund requirements and re-payment purposes. This, in turn, is adding to its debt burden. The Board, meanwhile, is looking to borrow Rs 500 crore more to pay up the pensions and other short-term expenses.
