Kerala’s prevailing electricity tariffs to stay valid till October 31

Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission extends validity of prevailing power tariffs in Kerala till October 31. Court quashed Regulation 34(IV) of KSERC (Terms & Conditions for Determination of Tariff) Regulations, 2021. Commission in process of finalising revised tariffs, may take few more weeks. Validity of tariffs extended till Oct 31, 2023 or till new tariffs declared, whichever earlier.

The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has extended the validity of the prevailing power tariffs in Kerala till October 31.

In an order issued on Friday, the commission said it may take a few more weeks to complete the process of determining the revised tariffs for the control period from 2023-24 to 2026-27. In the meantime, the prevailing tariffs will be valid till October 31, 2023 or till the new tariffs are declared by the commission, whichever is earlier.

The prevailing tariffs, announced in June 2022, were meant to be effective only till March 31, 2023. But their validity was extended in stages up to September 30 on account of a writ petition filed by the Kerala HT-EHT Industrial Electricity Consumers Association in the High Court. The court had asked the commission to put on hold its tariff orders until the case was disposed of.

In a September 7 order, the High Court quashed Regulation 34(IV) of the KSERC (Terms and Conditions for Determination of Tariff) Regulations, 2021 that allowed the inclusion of repayment of the principal amount on bonds issued to the master trust (pension fund) of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) employees for computing the KSEB’s aggregate revenue requirement (ARR). The commission would need to factor in this development while finalising the revised tariffs.

In Friday’s order, the commission said it is in the process of finalising the tariffs and that it may take a few more weeks to complete the process.