HPDCs to allow payment of arrears in installments

by Haryananewswire

CHANDIGARH, JAN 30

Haryana Power Distribution Corporations have decided to allow payment of arrears in installments.

          This was stated by Chairman and Managing Director, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, Mr. Devender Singh while addressing a gathering of consumers after starting the work of strengthening the power distribution system in Siwani,in district Hisar today .

          He said that the concerned sub divisional officer can accept the payment of arrears in installments with the condition that minimum 50 per cent amount of the arrears is paid in the first installment. The number of installments can be two for arrear up to Rs.10,000, three for up to Rs. 30,000, four for up to Rs. 50,000, five for up to Rs. two lakh and eight installments for the amount of arrear above Rs. two lakh.

He said that if consumers pay for the electricity they consume as per the cost of supply, there would be no hurdle in supplying power for 20 hours a day in villages. There is no shortage of electricity but the power distribution utilities should have sufficient money to purchase.  

He said that the campaign to maintain, strengthen and renovate the electricity distribution system all over the State would help consumers bring down the Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT and C) losses to the level of below 25 per cent on their feeders to qualify for taking power supply on urban mode. He said that the power distribution utilities intend to give power supply for 20 hours a day in villages also but   the loss level is required to be brought down. For this purpose the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam have launched a scheme under which if consumers bring down the AT andC losses at a level below 25 per cent, get meters in all houses and get the existing meters relocated, they would be given power supply for 20 hours a day.

Mr. Devender Singh said that it can easily be achieved by checking theft of electricity and paying the bills on time. Strengthening of system would help reduce the technical losses. He  said that keeping in view the demand of consumers who were defaulter as on June 16, 2005 and could not opt for the Bill Waiver Scheme or left out the scheme in between after opting it, the Nigams have given yet another opportunity. The benefit can be availed up to March 31, 2013.

If they come forward to pay off the principal amount of bills pertaining to the period with effect from June 17, 2005 in one go, all the pending bills, pertaining to the period up to June 16, 2005 and whole of the late payment surcharge would be waived off.

The decision will benefit those rural domestic and tube well consumers who could not opt for the scheme and who had joined the scheme but could not make payment of their bills for 20 months regularly and stopped paying their electricity bills in between. As a result their defaulting amount on June 16, 2005 could not be waived off.

Mr Devender Singh urged the consumers, who had left the scheme or did not opt for the scheme to avail this opportunity, to get waived off the defaulting amount  standing against them as on June 16, 2005 by depositing only the capital amount of their unpaid current bills issued after June 16, 2005 in one go.

He said that each village and urban ward would get at least one additional distribution transformer as the Haryana Power Distribution Corporations plan to install over 11,000 new distribution transformers, erect 80,000 poles, required length of cable, conductor and G.O switches all over the State at a cost of about Rs. 500 crore, under the prestigious ongoing programme to strengthen and renovate the power distribution all over the State. The programme will thus eliminate the problem of overloading of the system.

He said that ten per cent of the work will be completed during the month of January, next 10 per cent in February, 20 per cent in March, 20 per cent in April, 30 per cent in May and rest 10 per cent of the work will be completed during the month of June, 2013. Thus, power distribution system in all the 9000 villages and wards and HUDA sectors in urban areas will be maintained by the end of June, 2013.

Mr. V. K. Chaudhary, Director, Mr. S S Yadav Director, DHBVN and S S Lohchab SDM also addressed the gathering.