The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) heard objections to a power tariff hike proposed by Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) on the Mysuru Zilla Panchayat premises in the city on Wednesday.
The KERC panel headed by its chairman and IAS officer P, Ravikumar (retd), besides members H.K. Jagadeesh and Jawaid Akthar heard the objections to the proposed power tariff hike from power consumers across domestic, industrial and farming sectors.
CESC Managing Director G. Sheela had sought a hike of ₹0.68 per unit for the financial year 2025-26, ₹1.03 per unit for 2026-27, and ₹1.23 per unit for 2027-28 to bridge the revenue shortfall. The anticipated shortfall was ₹609.56 crore for the year 2025-26, ₹970.30 crore for 2026-27, and ₹1,214.15 crore for 2027-28.
The increasing costs for power procurement, operation and maintenance will lead to deficits unless the tariffs were revised, she argued. The average cost of power supply per unit was projected to be ₹9.08 during 2025-26, ₹9.45 in 2026-27, and ₹9.68 during 2027-28 while the average revenue per unit is expected to be ₹8.40, ₹8.42, and ₹8.44, respectively, necessitating a hike in tariff to bridge the revenue gap.
However, several stakeholders voiced their opposition to the proposed hike. The Karnataka Electricity Consumers Association (KECA) referred to the “Time of the Day (ToD)” cess proposed by the CESC and strongly condemned the move that would impose unnecessary burden on the electricity consumers. Routine work in households and commercial establishments is carried out only during the stipulated times. Routine work cannot be done at a time of the day when the demand for power is less, said KECA representatives.
The KECA also demanded CESC to take necessary steps for recovery of dues from defaulting consumers besides cracking down upon corruption and bringing down transmission and distribution losses.
While Mysuru Industries Association’s (MIA) general secretary Suresh Kumar Jain objected to the levy of additional tariff levied on small scale industries to cross subsidise power to other sectors, vice-president of Industrial Areas Manufacturers Association K. Ravindra Prabhu pointed out that the losses suffered by the electricity supply company were purely on account of financial mismanagement.
Mr. Prabhu cited certain “loss-making” decisions by the Government of Karnataka like “write-offs, default payment to independent power producers, inefficient billing and collection, unplanned purchase of excess power and allowing all telecom service providers to use its distribution network free”.
Mysuru Chamber of Commerce and Industry president too urged the KERC to reject the petition outright. Farmers’ representative Hoskote Basavaraju also participated in the hearing and objected to the proposal to hike power tariff.
