Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEBL) is set to hike power tariff, its consumers owe it a whopping Rs 2,700 crore. Out of this Rs 800 crore is owing to the relaxation given to consumers on remittance of electricity bills during the Covid lockdown period. Significantly, the balance Rs 1,900 crore has been pending for years, pointing to lack of will to recover the dues.

Among the government institutions, the Kerala Water Authority owes the highest dues to KSEB. The state government had taken over KWA's dues worth Rs 1,300. Despite the government intervention, the state water utility is not remitting the electricity charges due from its pumping stations.

KWA's total dues have shot up to Rs 600 crore already and it is increasing by Rs 30 crore every month. In the case of the KWA, the KSEBL cannot resort to extreme measures such as disconnecting the power supply by removing the fuse because it could lead to disruption of drinking water supply.

Long-term dues

Significantly, the power utility is yet to recover dues remaining for the past 30-40 years. Industrial units that have been shut, loss- making public sector undertakings, government departments and the BSNL, all have to pay arrears to KSEBL. Charging tariff from crisis-ridden institutions is another big headache.

KSEB chairman N S Pillai said with the relaxation granted for lockdown period ending on December 31, the Board hopes to collect the pending dues.

As reported earlier the new power tariff is expected to come in force by March 2021.