KSEB could have spared the consumers of such a deadly blow if it had taken up the matter with the regulatory body and treated a part of the deficit as revenue asset, according to former electricity minister A.K. Balan.
“This was a practice followed by most states where the boards would give an assurance to the regulatory body that it would make up for the revenue deficit in the coming year.
This is on the assumption that there would be better rains and other energy sources which would bring in the ‘imaginary’ income,” he told the media here on Friday.
It was wrong planning of the authorities that was now forcing consumers to pay Rs 1,676 crore, of which more than half could have been set aside as ‘revenue asset’, he said.
Balan said there was also an issue of extra high tension industry consumers having to pay higher charges of over Rs 4 a unit as they did not get the benefit of transmission loss. If that was taken into consideration, per unit charge would be in the Rs 3 range.
The CPM leader stuck to the stand that the Gadgil committee report on Western Ghats would hamper hydel generation.