Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission Thursday announced a steep increase in power tariff.
On an average, the new rates for different slabs of users are estimated to be higher by about 30 per cent.
All classes of users have to bear the tariff hike, and the fixed surcharges for single and three-phase connections have been raised to Rs20 and Rs60 respectively.
The increased rates became effective retrospectively from July 1. The per unit tariff for those using more than 500 units has been hiked from Rs5.45 to Rs6.50. The new rates will be valid until March 31, 2013.
The tariff increase comes in the backdrop of a poor monsoon in the state, which has led to a low water level in many dams in the state, including the Idukki dam which is the flagship hydel power generating station in the state.
Kerala has had fewer power cuts compared to other states, apparently because of fewer industrial consumers in the state. Different states in India currently have power cuts that run through many hours in the day, and there were riots over power outages in Haryana earlier this month.
