Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) is going ahead with procedures to announce the revised power tariff applicable for the next five years in coming March. The Commission is presently preparing the draft rules, which will be published on its website next month.
The new tariff would be based on 180 factors, including production cost, salary expenses and loan repayment. The present tariff, which came into force in 2018, is valid till March 31, 2022 and is fixed for four years.
After the draft rules for the tariff hike are published, KSERC will conduct hearings in three districts. Following which, it would direct the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to file a tariff petition seeking an increase in the rates. On receiving the tariff petition, hearings would be held in all districts and the new tariff would be finalized considering the data provided by the KSEB also.
KSEB deal to buy 3,300 MW
Meanwhile, the KSEB has already reached long-term agreements with several entities outside Kerala to purchase 3,300 megawatts of power. However, the cost of electricity bought from outside is often very high and the KSERC is yet to approve three of these deals citing violation of procedures.