T’puram: Power bills in Keralam could rise from April next year after Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) notified a new five-year tariff framework that enables monthly fuel-cost surcharges, time-of-day pricing and recovery of accumulated regulatory assets.Multi Year Tariff Regulations, 2026, notified on Oct 16, will govern generation, transmission, distribution, wheeling and state load dispatch centre charges from April 1, 2027, to March 31, 2032.KSEB and other licensees must file tariff petitions by Nov 30. KSERC will determine the final rates after examining the petitions and completing the regulatory process.A key provision is the monthly fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge, which will reflect changes in the actual cost of fuel and power purchased by a licensee. The calculation will be linked to costs incurred two months earlier, and the surcharge will be shown separately on bills.It will apply to all consumers except domestic users with a connected load of up to 1,000 watts and monthly consumption of up to 40 units. Licensees can recover the full adjustment automatically when the variation is up to 4%. For variations above 4%, 90% can be recovered automatically, with the remaining 10% subject to annual true-up.To prevent a sudden burden on consumers, licensees may defer recovery for up to two billing cycles when the variation exceeds 4%. Details of the adjustment must be published.The regulations also allow recovery of the existing regulatory asset as of March 31, 2024, along with carrying costs and adjustments. It will be liquidated in four equal instalments between 2027-28 and 2030-31. KSERC will decide the surcharge from April 1, 2027, based on the licensee’s petition. It will apply across consumer categories.The framework introduces time-of-day or time-of-use tariffs, subject to the availability of suitable meters and infrastructure. The proposed zones are solar hours from 8am to 6pm, peak hours from 6pm to 11.30pm and off-peak hours from 11.30pm to 8am. Consumers may get lower rates during solar-generation hours and pay more during peak demand.For domestic consumers, fixed charges may eventually be linked to recorded maximum demand. Until the meters are installed, charges may continue to be based on sanctioned connected load.KSERC may also extend kVAh-based billing, power-factor incentives or disincentives and demand-response measures to more consumer categories. The regulations provide for energy-storage systems, including batteries and pumped storage, an optional green tariff, and performance-linked incentives.They also revise the method of approving operation and maintenance expenses, based on benchmarks, business growth, inflation and efficiency.The notification replaces the 2021 regulations from April 1, 2027. It does not itself raise tariffs. The impact on consumers will be known only after KSERC issues tariff orders.
