Bengaluru resident petitions ministers over rising BESCOM tariffs and power outages

A Bengaluru resident has petitioned state energy officials over rising electricity fixed charges, poor compensation for rooftop solar power, and deteriorating power reliability in the Kaggadaspura, Bennigenahalli, and Kasturi Nagar neighbourhoods. Sivaraman Hariharan submitted formal representations outlining these grievances to Energy Secretary Gaurav Gupta and Energy Minister KJ George, demanding greater transparency and policy reforms from the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) and the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC).

Hariharan submitted his representations to Gupta on March 13, 2024, and to George on August 7, 2024, but has not yet received a response. The resident questioned why KERC continues to approve annual increases in fixed charges without requiring BESCOM to publish a separate account detailing how the collected revenue is utilised. Currently, these collections are only reflected in BESCOM’s overall profit and loss statement.

According to Hariharan, fixed charges have tripled from Rs 50 per kilowatt (kW) per month of sanctioned load in 2018 to Rs 150 per kW per month. He argued that BESCOM and KERC should waive fixed charges to encourage renewable energy investments.

The petition also highlighted the poor financial returns for rooftop solar systems. Residents investing around Rs 1.5 lakh, excluding government subsidy, in a standard 3 kW rooftop solar installation continue to pay monthly fixed charges of about Rs 435, while receiving very little for surplus electricity exported to the grid. Hariharan cited recent BESCOM bills where one account was credited just Rs 4 for exporting 53 units, and another received Rs 252 for 252 units. This compensation rate of approximately Rs 1 per unit is significantly lower than the state's average power supply cost of Rs 6.304 per unit.

Furthermore, power supply reliability has worsened in the E-10 subdivision covering Kaggadaspura, Bennigenahalli, and Kasturi Nagar. Records maintained by Hariharan show there were 157 power outages lasting a total of 58.3 hours during 2025, compared to 139 outages lasting 47.3 hours in 2024. This represents a 13 per cent increase in the number of outages and a 23 per cent increase in total duration.

The resident also flagged outstanding safety issues, noting that requests to replace bare overhead power lines with insulated cables have remained pending for years. Green energy advocate Kochu Sankar, former president of the Trinity Enclave RWA, supported the concerns, criticising KERC’s tariff hikes as an unfair burden on rooftop solar users based on flawed benchmarks.