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
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