Another Shock to Consumers; KSEB to Triple Rates for New Electricity Connections

Thiruvananthapuram: The UDF government is imposing an additional burden on people instead of taking relief measures as the power crisis worsens in Keralam. The latest move is a sharp increase in charges for new electricity connections, with rates rising by up to three times.

If the proposed system comes into effect, certain categories of consumers will have to pay higher charges. At present, the charges are determined based on the cost of materials required for providing a new connection. The KSEB has proposed changing this system to one based on connected load.

Under the proposed system, consumers would have to purchase cables and other materials required for a new connection at their own expense, after which the KSEB would levy a hefty service charge. This has been criticised as being completely anti-people.

The board has also proposed standardising the fee so that the same charge is collected from applicants who require a post and those who do not.

It is also unfair to collect the entire cost of a transformer from an applicant, install it and subsequently make it a KSEB asset for use by other consumers.