THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has extended the validity of the existing power tariffs till September 30 or until the time new rates are announced, whichever is earlier.An interim order has been issued in this regard as a decision is still pending on the tariffs for the 2016-17 Financial Year(FY). The KSERC decided to extend the validity of the tariffs as certain consumer groups argued that the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had no right to levy charges since the applicability of the tariffs ended on March 31, 2016.
The existing tariffs, which had been originally announced in 2014, were extended till March 31, 2016. As the KSEB failed to submit the proposals on time, the Commission had taken the unprecedented step of shouldering the responsibility. Even though the KSERC held a public hearing on July 27, a final decision in this regard was still awaited as the KSEB had challenged the Commission’s findings that the state-run power utility would report a profit in 2016-17 and 2017-18. According to the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Expected Revenue from Charges (ERC) petitions drawn up by the Commission, the KSEB will enjoy a revenue surplus of Rs 575.74 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 600.39 crore in 2017-18. However, the KSEB has challenged this by projecting a revenue deficit of Rs 1,677.99 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 2,127.25 crore in 2017-18.