Power curbs: KSERC to hear views of public tomorrow

The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) will on Monday hear the views of the public on the Kerala State Electricity Board’s (KSEB) plea for compulsory power restrictions in the state.

The hearing will be held at the Commission’s office in Vellayambalam here at 11 a m.

According to the KSEB, power supply at normal tariff should be restricted to 200 units a month to domestic consumers and to 75 per cent to industrial consumers. According to the KSEB, power restrictions should be in place up to June 2013 and excess consumption should be charged at Rs 11 per unit, which is approximately the current market rate.

After a preliminary review of the power situation on November 30, the Commission had allowed the KSEB to continue with the one-hour loadshedding during peak time until the power situation improved.

When the KSEB requested for power restrictions in October, the Commission said that it would observe the pattern of the north-east monsoon first, before taking a decision.

In a report on the power situation filed a week ago, the KSEB noted that though the monsoon was active during October and the first week of November, inflow into the hydel reservoirs was ‘much less than anticipated’.

Huge fiscal liability awaits the KSEB if power restrictions are not imposed in the state, the power utility has told the Commission.