KSEB Sure-for-Profit model, Keralites Blindsided?

 A different post from my usual, this is on the KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board) and the blind spot of Keralites, with or without the awareness of its governance system.

While states across India follow the pattern of monthly billing for electricity consumed, consumers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and parts of Haryana are billed on a bimonthly basis and the monthly consumption is considered to be average of the total bimonthly consumption. In Haryana, there has been a shift from bimonthly bill payment to monthly payment.

Consumers in Kerala have been asking for a monthly based bill for they feel they are being overcharged on months they consume less. The exorbitant billing by the KSEB for our average household connection is what had us take a closer look at its bimonthly billing system and this post is an outcome of that.

Suppose your total bimonthly consumption is 1120, but in the first month you consumed only 490 units and in the second month you consumed 530 units. In the bimonthly bill, KSEB bills you at rate of Rs.8.8 per unit as per tariff in 2024 when for the first month where your consumption was below 500 units you should have been billed @Rs. 7.9 per unit.

The consumer then ends up paying Rs.4,312 instead of Rs.3,871. Leaving a clear profit of Rs. 441 with no energy consumed. This occurring five times a year would mean in a year the consumer is charged an excess amount of Rs.2,205.

This practice of bimonthly charging has been going on for decades, though consumers have requested for monthly billing, it has not been provided. To put this in perspective one has to look at the multiplier effect that makes it appear a public swindle by what is a public utility service penalizing the public for over consumption without ever having supplied the energy they are billed for.

The total number of domestic electricity consumers for KSEB is 10 million (as of March 2023) or 1 crore. If one were to calculate that additional payment of R.2,205 for 2 percent of its consumers (as over 3.8 percent of consumers consume over 500 units per month) KSEB would in a period of one year, have made over Rs. 441 million or 44 crores profit with no service rendered or any expenditure incurred.

If one were to take today’s energy charges of Rs. 8.05 per unit when monthly consumption below 500 units and Rs.9 when consumption is above 500 units the KSEB would still garnering Rs.41 crores or 419 million as profits annually with thru a mathematical swindle.

Even if one were to consider only one instance of discrepancy in a year per consumer or Rs.441, even then KSEB would have made a profit of Rs.88 million or Rs.8.8 crores from 2 percent of its consumers, in a year.

KSEB has often said online, that it will pay any customer that it has mistakenly overcharged. Now is the right time for KSEB to keep the promise. As Kerala state is AI savvy, there are many financial AI app to detect discrepancies and as use of smart meter is common in Kerala, it would be easy for KSEB to use an existing app or custom make one and repay all the customers it has overcharged during the past decade, at least.  It would be a nice Christmas gift for Keralites.

Government of India are you listening? Getting a monthly bill should be the right of consumers, shouldn’t it be? KSEB, hope Keralites can look forward to Christmas with a smile.

Molly Charles

Andrew Mohan Charles