The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has received a proposal from the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) that will increase the cost of electricity by an average of Rs. 1.4 per unit. Mescom requested an average increase of Rs 1.4 per unit at a public hearing called by KERC chairman P Ravi Kumar on Friday at the deputy commissioner’s office in this city. Mescom predicted a deficit of Rs 769 crore for the fiscal year 2023–2024. 
According to the Mescom’s submission, the division, which includes the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga, and Chikkamagaluru, will need to purchase electricity for 2023–2024 at a cost of Rs 3,787 crore. The estimated revenue is Rs 4,445 crore, compared to the required revenue of Rs 5,214 crore. According to client demand, the Mescom must guarantee the delivery of excellent power supply in order to deliver good service. Due to lower than anticipated use in 2021–2022, Mescom requested that the KERC raise the power tariff by an average of Rs 1.4. Consumers, business groups, and organisations disagreed with Mescom’s proposal, which called for a tariff increase.
There is now no need for a tariff increase, according to members of the Small Scale Industries Association, who cited the different factors that have influenced industrial output over the past few years. Ramakrishna Sharma, a customer, urged the KERC not to increase the fee, stating that Mescom must enhance the quality of the power supply by addressing the low voltage issue and hiring more lineman. Sathyanarayana Udupi of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangha proposed that instead of raising the tariff, Mescom should reclaim the outstanding debt of Rs 1,214 crore. He continued by saying that Mescom’s loss-related reasons could not be supported.
Social activist GK Bhat disagreed with Mescom’s proposal and argued against raising the tariff. In four districts, Mescom has 18.4 lakh residential power connections, 36,000 industrial units, 3.8 lakh pump set connections, 2.4 lakh commercial connections, and other connections. According to officials, the transmission loss, which was 11.4% in 2016–17, will be 9% in 2021–22.
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