Bengaluru: Griha Jyoti Yojana, a flagship scheme of the Congress government in Karnataka, aimed at providing up to 200 units of free electricity to home consumption consumers, faces a challenge as a significant number of customers are reluctant to clear outstanding balances.
Implemented to offer relief to consumers, Griha Jyoti Yojana calculates an average unit for annual usage estimation. Consumers are required to pay only for units consumed beyond this estimate. However, reports indicate that customers are hesitating to settle previous dues even after the scheme’s initiation.
Under Griha Jyoti Yojana, households had until September 30, 2023, to clear outstanding electricity charges by the end of June 30, 2023, to avail the benefits. However, many customers in Karnataka are opting to retain existing balances, taking advantage of the Congress’ free electricity benefit. Despite the scheme not mandating the payment of old dues for eligibility, consumers are reluctant to settle previous outstanding amounts.
The outstanding balances across different electricity supply companies (ESCOMs) in Karnataka are substantial. BESCOM has 14,66,017 household consumers with arrears of Rs 397.89 crores. MESCOM has 4,39,887 households owing Rs 62.88 crores.
CESC has 12,57,192 households with arrears of Rs 306.93 crores. HESCOM has 10,52,675 households owing to arrears of Rs 196.09 crores, and JESCOM has 26,80,139 households with arrears of Rs 507.68 crores. The total arrears from all ESKOMs amount to Rs 1,471.47 crores from 68,95,910 household consumers.
The financial burden on power supply companies is evident, as they face difficulties amid the non-payment of dues. The government is currently covering the cost of free electricity, while consumers pay only for excess consumption. However, the continuation of old balances without payment is straining electricity supply companies.
In response to the situation, officials from electricity supply companies have suggested imposing conditions on Griha Jyoti Yojana, such as making payment of old dues a prerequisite or setting a deadline for clearing all outstanding amounts. The recovery of unpaid dues is crucial for the financial recovery of power supply companies.
Furthermore, substantial outstanding electricity bills from various government departments add to the challenge. The outstanding bills are Rs 6063.11 crore under BESCOM, Rs 465.01 crore under MESCOM, Rs 736.38 crore under CESC, Rs 999.53 crore under HESCOM, Rs 2036.62 crore under JESCOM, and Rs 11.95 crore under Hukkeri, totalling to Rs 10285.60 crore.
Energy Minister KJ George has issued a warning of potential power cuts and instructed authorities to address the issue promptly, emphasizing the importance of clearing electricity bill dues from released grants and the own resources of government institutions. The minister has urged concerned officials to take necessary action to settle the outstanding bills.
