3.4 million power consumers opt-in for subsidy in Delhi till Oct 31: Official

The AAP government launched an opt-in scheme on September 14 where customers need to make a formal request for subsidy.

NEW DELHI: Over 3.4 million consumers have applied for power subsidy in Delhi by October 31, the last day for applying for the free power scheme of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to continue getting the benefit without a break.

Out of Delhi’s 5.7 million power consumers, 4.7 million households were receiving subsidy under the default provision that ends on Oct 31 (AFP file photo)

People can still apply for the subsidy but it will be granted with effect from the date of their request

The AAP government launched an opt-in scheme on September 14 where customers need to make a formal request for subsidy, saying there were people willing to pay their electricity bills in full and wanted an option to give up the power subsidy.

Those who want the subsidy are required to opt-in for the concession every year.

In all, Delhi has 5.7 million power consumers. Out of them, 4.7 million households were receiving subsidy under the default provision, according to a government official.

“The number of applications may increase further but the pace of increase will be slow because a large number of people have already opted for the subsidy,” an official said, adding that people who apply after November 1 will be required to pay their bill in full for October.

People who want to opt for the power subsidy have to register. This can be done by giving a missed call or sending a WhatsApp message to 7011311111. Offline applications have also been submitted at various billing centres.

A breakup of the online and offline forms received by the government was not immediately available.

Since 2015 when AAP came to power, households that consume less than 200 units a month get a 100% waiver. Currently, about 3.03 million are covered by this provision. Another 1.66 million consumers who use 201-400 units are given up to ₹800 in subsidy.

According to Discom officials, the BSES discoms — BRPL and BYPL — received 15,54,646 and 8,49,756 applications respectively till Monday, while Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) received 10,00,958 requests for power subsidy. The New Delhi Municipal Council which supplies power to NDMC areas and Delhi Cantonment areas has received 10,920 applications from customers for subsidy.

For 2022-23, the government has allocated about ₹3,250 crore for power subsidies.

In the first year (2015-16) when AAP government introduced the power subsidy scheme, it released ₹1,442.76 crore for power subsidy, which increased to ₹2,939.99 crore in 2020-21. Arvind Kejriwal has been asserting in poll campaigns and other platforms that the money to fund the subsidies comes from plugging corruption in governance.