Thiruvananthapuram: The Aam Admi Party (AAP) held massive protests outside the State Electricity Regulatory Commission office in the capital city and other districts in Kerala condemning the commission’s decision to approve tariff hike to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and thereby causing financial barrier for the common citizens of the state.
The AAP Kerala unit alleged that when the state has provisions to generate electricity at much low costs as compared to other states in the country, the mismanagement and corruption prevailing in the electricity board has put more financial burden on the ordinary tax payers of Kerala.
“When the Electricity board’s decision to hike power and thereby loot the people of Kerala will affect the common people of Kerala, the main political parties in the state has chosen to remain silent. However, it is only the AAP in Kerala which has decided to take up the matter and fight for the people”, said AAP state president Vinod Mathew Wilson at the protest venue in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Kerala wing of the Aam Aadmi Party in its bid to expand its wings in South India has been making silent strides against issues related to the power tariff hike proposed by the KSEB.
AAP plans to take up power tariff issue to reach out to public
The AAP is looking to educate power consumers on their rights so that they can intervene in issues before the statutory body like Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission takes a call on the power tariff hike. At the recent public hearing held by the KSERC at Thiruvananthapuram, several dozen AAP party workers had thronged the packed venue.
“How many people know that the KSERC holds hearings every month on various aspects of power? They regularly come up with notifications on their website which we follow religiously. The AAP had also moved the High Court where we filed a writ petition which will be taken up on Tuesday. The KSEB representative informed the High Court that the four public hearings saw only a few people attending it and those who attended were goondas. Along with the legal fight, we are also going to regularly hold political fights,” said Wilson to the media.
The Kerala electricity board has proposed a tariff increase of 30 paise per unit for 2024-25, 20 paise for 2025-26 and 2 paise for 2026-27. Additionally, the board has requested permission to charge an extra 10 paise per unit during the summer season from January to May.
