KSEB dues rise as private sector delays bill payments

Thiruvananthapuram: KSEB is unable to collect arrears from private institutions. Although the arrears of government and public sector institutions have reduced significantly, those of private institutions are not decreasing at all.

According to the new report, KSEB has to get Rs 1696.83 crore from electricity charges till March 31 this year. Of this, Rs 1049.16 crore is due from private departments. The dues are Rs 164 crores from public sector undertakings.

The government recovered dues amounting to ₹1,200 crore in several phases last year. A major portion of the arrears—including those of the Water Authority—was settled by the government and adjusted against the electricity duty payable by KSEB.

The Centre has stated that if electricity charges owed by public sector undertakings and local bodies are treated as arrears, they will be counted under the state government's debt limit. This marks the first time such a provision has been included in determining the debt ceiling. As a result, the state government can no longer accumulate additional arrears. In contrast, there are no stringent rules for recovering dues from private institutions. As of March 31 last year, private institutions owed ₹1,009.47 crore.

This year the dues have increased to Rs 1049.61 crore. Of this, Rs 226.09 crores are related to the arrears that are subject to disputes and legal issues. The report says that there are no legal issues or disputes in the collection of the majority of Rs 828.32 crores. Still, it has not been possible to recover it. The arrears in the domestic sector have reduced from Rs 370 crores to Rs 357 crores.

KSEB has announced another scheme with concessions for collecting dues. One can join this scheme till July 31.