Private consumers form major chunk

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The KSEB’s Electricity Adalats organised towards the fag-end of the LDF Government’s term may have helped the individual consumer, but it has not significantly aided the KSEB in reducing electricity bill arrears run up by its bigger consumers, going by statistics tabled in the Assembly. On Tuesday, the Assembly was told that consumers owed the KSEB a whopping Rs 1191.01 crore in bill arrears up to March 31, 2011. The total amount has in fact shot up compared to the last fiscal. On March 31, 2010, the arrears had stood at Rs 1096.55 crore. In both years, the private sector owed the major share of the pending amount.Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed told the Assembly in a written reply that of the Rs 1191.01 crore owed up to March 31, 2011, public sector units, state government departments and cooperatives accounted for Rs 407.89 crore. The private sector and individual consumers owed Rs 589.26 crore. Compared to 2010, the amount owed by both categories of consumers had gone up in 2011. Figures furnished by the KSEB show that in March 2010, the private sector owed the KSEB Rs 542.58 crore while state government departments, PSUs and cooperatives owed Rs 491.06 crore. The issue of arrears have once again brought to the fore the legal tangles before the KSEB in collecting the arrears from many defaulters, particularly several private industries. With regard to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), another big defaulter, further action will be taken only after the Cabinet sub-committee, appointed to study the matter, submits its report. The state-wide Electricity Adalats held towards the end of the LDF term had helped thousands of individual consumers, especially consumers belonging to the poorer sections of society and those residing in remote areas. However, it has scarcely helped the KSEB address the issue of the arrears run up by the big defaulters.On Tuesday, the Assembly was also told that 1205 connections in SC/ST colonies were cut after the said consumers had run up arrears.Electrical accidentAs many as 284 people died in electrical accidents in the state in 2010-2011, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed told the Assembly.