Mysuru: Reacting to Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) levying an additional 36 paise per unit as Pension and Gratuity (P&G) contribution from April 2025 on consumers using more than 200 units or opting out of free power, Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) has termed the surcharge a violation of the spirit of power sector reforms.

In a press release, Bhamy V. Shenoy, Founding Working President of MGP, said reversing this charge is unlikely unless there is widespread public protest, which appears improbable at present. However, he urged consumers to register their opposition now to deter similar “unjustified and unethical cess” in future.

He pointed out that the Karnataka Electricity Reform (KER) Act of 2002, which separated power generation, transmission and distribution, made it the State Government’s responsibility to fund pension and gratuity payments. However, in 2022, the BJP Government amended the Act to allow power companies to recover these contributions from consumers through   tariff hikes.

While the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) initially rejected requests from Energy Supply Companies (ESCOMs) for this recovery, the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Writ Petition against the amendment was dismissed by the Karnataka High Court on March 25, 2024. Following this, KERC had to comply with the ruling, enabling the inclusion of P&G payments in tariffs.

“Legality aside, this surcharge is unethical and high-handed,” Shenoy stated.

“Consumers today had no part in the Government’s past agreement with power sector employees. It was the Government’s duty to earmark pension  funds, like any responsible corporation would,” he noted.

He also pointed out that the core purpose of KERC is to keep tariff decisions free from Government interference.

“That principle has been undermined by all three major parties — the BJP and JD(S) amended the Act and Congress is using the amendment to shift pension funding to consumers. The high cost of providing free electricity under Congress guarantee schemes is an additional burden,” Bhamy Shenoy said.

Urges public action

MGP has called upon power consumers to pressure their elected representatives to raise the issue in the next Assembly session. “Right now, 90 percent of consumers receive free power and may not care. But if they ever start paying, the Act could be misused to fund unrelated projects at the public’s expense,” Shenoy warned.

He emphasised that KERC must remain truly autonomous, independent of political or bureaucratic influence, to protect consumer interests.