No such concession for CESC consumers as Corporation is ‘under loss’

Bengaluru: There is some good news for households this New Year. From Jan. 1, consumers in  Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) and Mangalore Electricity Supply Corporation (MESCOM) limits will shell out less on electricity bills.

Karnataka Energy Minister Sunil Kumar has tweeted, “The consumers will benefit directly from the reduction in price of power.” Power rates had gone up in Karnataka on Oct. 1, 2022, in the wake of rising coal rates and other costs.

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has slashed the fuel and power purchase cost adjustment charges. This will be in effect till March 31.  The order was issued on Dec. 22. In BESCOM limits, consumers will pay 37 paise less per unit while in MESCOM it will be 39 paise.

However, consumers of Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), Hubli Electricity Supply Company (HESC) and Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESC) will have to pay 19 paise more per unit, 22 paise and 20 paise, respectively. According to the Energy Department, CESC, HESC and GESC are under severe losses and as such, the rate has not been passed onto the consumer.

The reduction comes ahead of Assembly elections which are a few months away and also in the backdrop of the recently held Global Investors Meet and Bengaluru Tech Summit which laid stress on the generation of green energy. The proposal is not a part of the user fee and fuel cost adjustment charges, but to reduce the tariff for the next financial year, the billing cycle of which starts in April.