BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has reaffirmed that the subsidy for its flagship Gruha Jyothi free electricity scheme is being paid in advance to Electricity Supply Companies (ESCOMs), with no intention of collecting this amount from consumers, Energy Minister K J George said in an official statement.
The minister provided the clarification after a departmental meeting at Belaku Bhavana on Monday. “There is a misconception that ESCOMs have appealed to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) to recover the Gruha Jyothi subsidy from consumers if the government does not pay it in advance. The government has no such plan”, he said.
“When the Gruha Jyothi scheme was announced, the government committed to providing free electricity up to 200 units for households. It was also assured that the subsidy would be entirely covered by the government. Accordingly, funds have been allocated in the budget. Since the scheme’s implementation (from August 2023 to February 2025), the Gruha Jyothi subsidy has been paid in advance to all ESCOMs”, he explained.
Hon’ble Minister for Energy Shri @thekjgeorge Ji recently inaugurated the MEI Exhibition and Sales Outlet of The Mysore Electrical Industries Limited on Tumkur Road, Yeshwantpur.
🎤 Watch this video to listen to his speech! 🎥#EnergyDepartment @The_MEI_ltd @SManoharCONG… pic.twitter.com/WqAfowtswY
— Office Of KJ George (@KJGeorgeOffice) February 24, 2025
Addressing concerns regarding regulatory provisions, the Minister added, “As per the KERC (Subsidy Payment Mechanism) Rules, 2008, ESCOMs are permitted to collect subsidies from consumers if the state government fails to pay in advance. This is a general rule. The same has been misinterpreted. “
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced the provision of 200 units of free electricity, a promise made by the Congress before the 2023 Assembly elections. In December 2024, the ESCOMs submitted a proposal to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) seeking an increase in electricity rates for the next three years.
KERC has initiated the rate revision process after issuing a notification for the Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) system. Under this system, ESCOMs have proposed an increase of 67 to 70 paise per unit of electricity for the year 2025-26, 70 to 75 paise for 2026-27, and 85 to 90 paise per unit for 2027-28. If KERC approves the proposal, the burden of the price hike will fall on consumers. (ANI)