The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has allowed the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to impose a fuel surcharge of 25 paise a unit on consumer bills for a period of six months from August 1.

The fuel surcharge shall be applicable to consumers of all licensees except domestic consumers having consumption not more than 20 units a month and connected load of less than or equal to 500W.

KSEB PETITION

This is in response to a KSEB petition for permission to recover an additional financial liability of Rs 53.69 crore for the period from October to December 2010. The KSEB had filed another petition for recovering the difference in fuel cost for the period from January 2011 to March 2011 for an amount of Rs107.54 crore.

As against the total Rs 161.23 crore thus proposed, the commission has approved Rs 181.14 crore, including Rs 30.85 crore due for previous quarters as fuel surcharge.

The surcharge shall be effective for consumption from August 1 for next six months or till an amount of Rs 181.14 crore is recovered, whichever is earlier, the order said.

As soon as Rs 181.14 crore is recovered, KSEB shall inform the Commission promptly, upon which it shall terminate the collection of fuel surcharge by all licensees.

The commission is of the view that the reporting of fuel cost of own stations has to be verified since the KSEB has stated that no audit process has been involved before filing the estimates.

Accordingly, the commission has decided to engage an in-house audit team to verify the procedures of reporting fuel cost estimates. A final decision on the matter will be taken based on the report of the audit team.

The commission in its order has also directed that all licensees (such as KSEB) shall indicate the rate of surcharge and the total amount as surcharge separately in the bills issued to the consumers.

BILLING SOFTWARE

It is further directed that KSEB shall make appropriate changes in the billing software so as to show the fuel surcharge details in the bills “without any ambiguity.”

All licensees shall, on or before the close of 30 days from each month, provide the commission with the details of surcharge collected from each consumer category.

If the details of surcharge are not provided on time, the commission may initiate ‘suo motu' proceedings for withdrawal of surcharge.

Clarification

Any clarification sought by the consumers in this regard shall be properly furnished by the licensees.

Any difficulty in complying with this direction shall be immediately brought to the notice of the commission with suitable suggestions.

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