Activists point to questionable expenses in Gescom annual report at KERC public hearing 

Environmental activists and organisations urged the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) to defer approval of the financial year 2025 Annual Performance Report (APR) true-up filed by Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCOM) until the discrepancies pointed out are examined and corrected through a revised submission, so that consumers are not affected.

KERC Chairperson P. Ravi Kumar and its member H.K. Jagadeesh were holding a public hearing in Kalaburagi city on February 23 to seek the opinion of consumers.

Social activist Deepak Gala raised concerns over a large discrepancy in transmission loss figures reported by Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (GESCOM) and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). GESCOM reported losses of 5.68%, while KPTCL recorded only 2.95% for the same year. He noted that energy at the common interface should be identical, given the use of high-accuracy meters, yet the records differ by 11,529.24 million units, about 13% of total energy purchased in FY25, with a financial impact of nearly ₹7,286 crore. He argued that this gap must be reconciled before the report is accepted/approved.

Social activist Deepak Gala submitted his objections and urged the KERC to re-examine Gescom’s annual performance report, during a public hearing at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi city on February 23, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
ARUN KULKARNI

Objections were also raised over power purchase costs from Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) thermal units. Of 10,636 million units bought by GESCOM for ₹6,332 crore, 1,820 million units came from KPCL, with ₹382.96 crore paid as capacity charge. Since the plants operated at only 47% plant load factor (PLF) against the expected 80%, Mr. Gala argued that ₹165.15 crore of the charge was excessive, and should be disallowed.

Concerns were highlighted on the distribution transformer centre (DTC) metering. While 30,004 DTCs have meters, over 52,000 remain unmetered. Around ₹45 crore has been spent on the system, yet losses have not dropped below the 5% target, he said, and demanded a review of the expenditure.

Mr. Gala sought details on the expenditure of ₹27.69 crore for the replacement of damaged and deteriorated electric poles by Gescom. The activist said that nearly 40,000 poles should have been replaced (for the expenditure cited), and questioned whether such large-scale replacement had actually taken place, as there has been no noticeable reduction in power interruptions or accidents. He requested physical verification of the work.

Siddaramaiah Hiremath highlighted safety issues, citing a tragic incident in Kalaburagi in 2025 where a woman lost her hand and legs due to low-lying electric cables. KERC directed GESCOM to ensure proper compensation and warned that officials must not pressure the victim’s family to withdraw their complaint.

Siddanna Kalshetty, a farmer from Kalgi, complained about the high cost of obtaining an IP set connection.

Residents of Sedam and Chincholi taluks alleged that GESCOM transformers and poles were being used for private layouts. They urged KERC to investigate, and ensure accountability.

The activists appealed to KERC to carefully examine these discrepancies, and defer approval of GESCOM’s financial year 2025 true-up until proper verification is done. They emphasised that no unjustified financial burden should be passed on to electricity consumers without thorough scrutiny and transparency.

Published – February 24, 2026 12:03 pm IST