The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) must call itself the Karnataka Electricity Tariff Increasing Commission as its only job seems to be to increase tariff and nothing else. It hardly does anything to regulate transmission or distribution of power in the state. Filled with bureaucrats, who don’t care to consult experts in the field of power transmission and distribution, the KERC has no way of adding value to its work and decision-making. It has an IAS officer as its chairman and retired officials from KPTCL and BESCOM as its office bearers, but no one from the private sector to advise it.
The government claimed during the global investors meet that it supplies quality and adequate power with hardly an increase in tariff, but this is not true anymore. It also promised to buy power from Chhattisgarh and commission the Bidadi power plant for the city, but it has done neither. Why is there no power tariff hike in Delhi or Goa? There has never been a time when the government has cut the power tariff in Karnataka.
Bengalureans are in for a hard time as the BBMP has increased property tax, the KERC has hiked the power tariff and the BWSSB is likely to up the water tariff as well. To add to their woes, the BMTC has not reduced its bus fares despite the fall in petroleum prices.
(The writer is Joint Secretary, Citizens Action Forum)
