Thiruvananthapuram: KSEB’s plan to raise money through the sale of securities to meet pension expenses is likely to burden the consumers. The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission is about to amend the rules so that the principal amount and interest for the bond will be considered for power tariff determination. The amendments to the draft has been already released. The public consultation is pending and the final decision will be taken only after that.

If the amendments are approved then around Rs 407 crore would have to be collected through a power tariff hike. That means it will be a burden on consumers.

KSEB's plan is to raise Rs 8144 crore through the bond route. The loan will be repaid by 2037. The funds raised will be parked at the Pension Master Trust. 

Until 2021, only interest for the bond was considered for power tariff determination. However, the amendment brought in 2021 included a provision to consider the principle amount too. The amendment was challenged in the court by the Kerala High Tension and Extra High Tension Industrial Electricity Consumers Association. The court made a favourable judgement to the association. However, it allowed the Regulatory Commission to have amendments as per the mandates and after public consultation. 

The new development comes at this juncture.