Violation of tariff conditions: KSEB slaps fine for letting out flats as ‘private lodges’

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is opposing the practice of renting flats (‘private hostels’ in KSEB parlance) for short stays to customers through booking apps. This is because such rentals constitute a violation of electricity tariff conditions as flats fall under the domestic category while private hostels fall under the higher-tariffed commercial category, power utility officials said on Monday.

Following inspections at flats in Kazhakootam area, the utility’s Anti-Power Theft Squad (APTS) imposed a total fine of just over ₹ 10.71 lakh on the numbers of three consumers. Now, KSEB plans to expand inspections across Kerala.

Following a tip-off, the inspections were carried out on the instructions of the civil service’s security officer, N. Rajan. Mr Rajan said the KSEB team booked rooms through a booking app. “The customer was given a password that would be used to unlock the room. In this particular case, they were charging ₹4,000 for two hours,” he said. The inspections were carried out by the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam units of APTS.

‘Private lodges’, along with private lodges, private guesthouses, private rest houses and private travel bungalows, fall under the Low Voltage VII (Commercial) category. Tariff plates are higher than plates in the Low Voltage – I (Domestic) category, which includes flats used for residential purposes.

Mr. Rajan said KSEB plans to expand inspections across Kerala.

The State Electricity Regulatory Commission, while issuing tariff orders on December 5, 2024, observed that “thousands of houses/flats owned by NRIs and high net worth individuals owning multiple houses are mostly vacant or under-occupied.” However, details such as connected loads and monthly electricity consumption of these consumers were not available with KSEB. Noting this, the Commission had directed KSEB to submit section-wise details of “mostly vacant houses”, including connected load and monthly consumption in the previous three years.