KSEB Compensation: What You Can Claim for Power Cuts and Delays

A long power cut, a meter nobody comes to check, or a refund that never arrives can feel like something you just put up with. It is not. KSEB compensation is set out in KSERC's standards of performance, which fix deadlines for repairs and services and a payment when they are missed. Here are the deadlines, the amounts, which credits should be automatic, and how to claim the rest.

What the KSERC rules promise every Kerala electricity consumer

• A fuse-off call must be fixed within four hours in urban areas (Regulation 4(2)).
• A missed restoration deadline carries ₹100 for each case of default (Schedule I).
• Late services such as a new connection or deposit refund carry ₹100 for each day of default (Schedule I).
• Several service delays are to be credited automatically, with no claim (Regulation 14A).
• Other breaches are claimed online within 30 days (Regulation 16(1)(a)).
• Homes with rooftop solar have the same rights (Regulation 2(15)).

The KSERC (Standards of Performance of Distribution Licensees) Regulations, 2015 apply to every distribution licensee and consumer in Kerala (Regulation 1(2)); for most homes the licensee is KSEB. It must pay you compensation when it fails to deliver a service within the guaranteed standard (Regulation 14(1)). The First Amendment Regulations, 2026, notified on 5 March 2026 and published in Kerala Gazette Extraordinary No. 1020 on 6 March 2026, rewrote much of this. KSERC's consolidated copy is marked updated on 13 October 2026.

KSERC says the 2026 amendment brought in the provisions of the central Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020. For solar homes, a prosumer, meaning someone who both uses and generates electricity under the KSERC Renewable Energy Regulations 2025, now has the same rights as a consumer (Regulation 2(15)). Days mean clear working days (Regulation 2(15a)). For billing once your plant is connected, see how KSEB net metering works for Kerala homes.

How fast must power be restored after a fault?

The deadline depends on where your house is. An urban area is a municipal corporation or municipality, including cantonment areas, industrial estates and special economic zones (Regulation 2(40)). A rural area is a grama panchayat (Regulation 2(37)). Difficult areas are water-logged areas, including punja and kole lands, plus hilly and remote areas that KSERC approves on the licensee's proposal (Regulation 2(16)).

Restoration deadlines under Regulation 4(2) to 4(5), as amended in 2026.

For a fuse-off call, the clock starts when your complaint is registered, and 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. is left out only in difficult areas (Regulation 4(2)). For line, cable and transformer breakdowns, it starts when the breakdown occurs and 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. is left out everywhere; for underground cables, time to get approval to dig a public pathway is also excluded (Regulations 4(3) to 4(5)).

Planned shutdowns have their own rule. Apart from load-shedding, a scheduled outage must be notified at least 24 hours in advance and may not exceed ten hours in a day (Regulation 4(7)). If a fault cannot be fixed in time, KSEB must tell you the likely restoration time within two hours of registering your complaint (Regulation 4(12)(a)). For what your own plant does during a cut, see how on-grid, off-grid and hybrid solar systems compare.

How much KSEB compensation is due for each missed deadline

Regulation 14(2) says compensation is paid at the rates in Schedule I, and the 2026 amendment replaced that schedule. Each line also says whether payment is automatic or manual/automatic. Credits show up as bill adjustments, so it helps to know the import, export and banked-unit lines on a solar bill.

Schedule I lines that matter most to homes.

Manual/automatic lines are paid on your application until KSEB brings that item under its automatic system (Schedule I, note). Per-day lines add up: for example, a deposit refund five days late would carry ₹500.

For example, a house in a municipality is in an urban area. A fuse-off complaint registered at 10 a.m. should be fixed by 2 p.m. If power returns at 5 p.m., that is one case of default under Regulation 4(2), worth ₹100 under Schedule I. Since that line is manual/automatic, apply with your complaint number within 30 days unless your bill already shows the credit.

Which payments should reach your bill without a claim?

Regulation 14A tells KSEB to build automatic compensation for the services in Regulation 4(13)(a) to (f), (i) and (k) to (m), the lines marked automatic in the table. When its system identifies such a default, you are compensated without a claim, in your current or next bill and not later than one billing cycle from the default, with intimation to you (Regulation 14A(2), (4) and (5)). KSEB was given six months from notification to set this up (Regulation 14A(1)). If you need a new connection, see KSEB's new connection charges by load.

Regulation 14(1A) also asked KSEB to create, within six months of notification, an online portal to register and track claims through to the amount credited, with each application passed automatically to the authorised officer. KSEB must publicise it through bills, its website, SMS, e-mail and WhatsApp.

After a delayed service, compare your next bills with the dates you noted. If no credit appears, ask your section office which items are automatic and where the claim page is. Knowing how KSEB tariff slabs and fixed charges are worked out makes a credit line easier to spot.

How to claim compensation for a breach step by step

Everything starts with a complaint number. KSEB must register your complaint at its local office, call centre or consumer interface and give you a complaint number at the end of the call or registration (Regulation 27). Its procedure must also tell you the date and time of registration, the expected resolution time, and the name, phone number and address of the officer responsible and of the next higher authority (Regulation 28(2)).

For breaches outside the automatic system, apply online within 30 days from the date of the breach (Regulation 16(1)(a)). An authorised officer not above the rank of Executive Engineer decides (Regulation 15), within 30 days of your application, down from 60 days before 2026 (Regulation 16(1)(b)). The officer cannot reject you without a hearing, and an award is paid within 30 days in cash or through your bills (Regulation 16(1)(c) and (d)).

• Your name, address and consumer number.
• The nature of the complaint in brief, and its complaint number.
• The date and time you lodged the complaint, and when KSEB attended to it.
• The standard time allowed under the standards of performance, and the actual time taken.
• The standard compensation amount under the regulations.

What to do if your claim is rejected or not paid

If you disagree with the officer's order, file Form B with the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum within 30 days; it must decide within 60 days and hear you before rejecting (Regulation 16(2)). Next is the Electricity Ombudsman, in Form C within 30 days of the Forum's order, again with 60 days to decide (Regulation 16(3)). Awards at either stage are paid within 30 days, and KSERC can hear a request to enhance the Ombudsman's award (Regulation 17).

Only KSERC can excuse payment, on KSEB's application, for a cluster of more than 100 consumers in a locality, where someone other than KSEB caused the default and technical reasons stopped a timely fix, and only after hearing representatives of the affected consumers (Regulation 18). KSEB must display the guaranteed standards in its local offices and publish them with the compensation structure online (Regulation 30).

What if your meter is faulty or damaged?

If you doubt your meter, KSEB must inspect it, check its correctness and rectify defects other than replacement within five days of your complaint (Regulation 4(14)). You can also request a test in the Annexure 15 format with the testing fee (Supply Code Regulation 116(4)). Replacement follows the Kerala Electricity Supply Code, 2014 (Regulation 4(15)). A meter found defective on inspection is to be replaced within 72 hours of detection (Supply Code Regulation 117(1)), and an LT meter damaged for reasons attributable to KSEB within three working days of the complaint (Supply Code Regulation 118(4)). For the screens, see how to read your net meter display.

If the RE (renewable energy) meter at a solar home is faulty, generation is assessed from the inverter's data first, then the average for the same month or months last year, then the available generation per kW per day for the last six months (Supply Code Regulation 125(5), applied to a damaged RE meter by Regulation 118(2)). A net meter not yet supplied for a new plant is a separate problem, covered in what to do while you wait for a KSEB net meter.

Keep your inverter's records safe, since they come first if the RE meter fails. A monthly note of readings, as in checking solar generation per day, gives you a record to show the section office.

Your checklist for the next outage or delayed service

• Register every complaint and write down the complaint number.
• Note when you complained and when supply or the service was restored.
• Ask whether your area is classed urban, rural or difficult.
• Check your next bills for a credit before filing a claim.
• For a manual item with no credit, apply online with your complaint details.
• In storms, keep away from fallen lines, report them, and read lightning protection for rooftop solar.
• Keep every claim, order and reply in one folder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources and Accuracy Note

• 01KSERC (Standards of Performance of Distribution Licensees) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026, Notification No. 171/Con.Engg/2026/KSERC dated 05.03.2026 (final PDF)
  Notification No. 171/Con.Engg/2026/KSERC dated 5 March 2026; Reg 1(2): in force from publication in the Kerala Gazette (footnotes in consolidated text give Gazette Extraordinary No. 1020 dated 06.03.2026).
  govt source · opened 2026-10-17
• 02KSERC (Standards of Performance of Distribution Licensees) (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2026, dated 23.09.2026 (PDF)
  Recital: the Commission amended the principal Regulations to incorporate the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 and its amendments (First Amendment, Gazette No. 1020 of 6 March 2026).
  govt source · opened 2026-10-17
• 03KSERC (Standards of Performance of Distribution Licensees) Regulations, 2015, consolidated text updated as on 13-10-2026 (final PDF)
  Summary list: Reg 4(2) fuse-off restoration hours; Schedule I Rs 100 per case and per day; Reg 14A automatic compensation; Reg 16(1)(a) 30-day online claim; Reg 2(15) proviso on equal rights for solar generators.
  govt source · opened 2026-10-17
• 04Kerala Electricity Supply Code, 2014, updated as on 14-10-2025 (final PDF)
  Supply Code Reg 116(4): consumer test request in Annexure 15 with testing fee; Reg 117(1) proviso: defective meter replaced within 72 hours of detection; Reg 118(4): LT meter damaged by licensee-attributable causes.
  govt source · opened 2026-10-17