GESCOM decision to write off subsidy dues likely to burden consumers
The Hindu
GESCOM seeks tariff revision to cover revenue-expenditure gap, sparking consumer discontent over government subsidy dues and interest write-offs.
State-owned power supply company operating in Kalyana Karnataka Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (GESCOM) submitted its Annual Performance Review (APR) to Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) in November 2024 seeking a revision of power tariffs to bridge the widening gap between revenues and expenditures.
However, this move sparked discontent among consumers as the company appears to be shifting the financial burden onto them rather than pursuing outstanding subsidy dues from the government.
According to information obtained by The Hindu, GESCOM is owed ₹3,566.47 crore (including ₹1,969.94 crore in interest) by the State government for power supplied to farmers irrigation pumpsets over the past 18 years.
By the end of the financial year 2021-22, the government’s energy subsidy dues payable to GESCOM was ₹3,604.09 crore (₹1,206.62 dues accumulated from previous years plus the current year’s claim of ₹2,397.47 crore).
The government released ₹3,135.17 crore bringing down dues to ₹468.92 crore.
In 2022-23, dues again went up to ₹734.28 crore as the government released only ₹2,436.47 crore against that year’s claim of ₹2,701.84 crore.
In 2023-24, dues further reached ₹1,352.63 crore as the government paid only ₹3,784.81 crore against that period’s claim for ₹4,403.16 crore.
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