Power arrears clearance scheme extended till Jan 16 in Noida

Officials at Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited urged consumers to avail the scheme and settle their dues to avoid punitive action

Consumers will now be able to avail the One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) till January 16 as the ministry of power has extended the last date of registration for it.

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The OTS scheme was announced in November 2023 to enable power consumers across the state to clear their dues without having to pay surcharge payable on the principal amount. Previously, its last date was December 31.

Officials at Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) urged the power consumers to avail the scheme and settle their dues to avoid punitive action.

According to Rajeev Mohan, chief engineer, PVVNL discom (Noida zone), following directions of energy minister AK Sharma, the last date has been extended to help the power consumers, who missed out benefitting from the scheme.

The distribution companies have been asked to sensitise power consumers and ensure that people can avail the service and “get themselves rid of the arrears on their respective power bills”, he said.

To be sure, only 40% of the around 1.6 lakh power consumers across Noida, with power arrears, registered themselves for the scheme up to December 2023.

As many as 65,098 power consumers got registered in two months, including 2,500 power consumers who applied on December 31, 2023, said officials.

“Of the ₹348 crore arrears, only ₹81 crore has so far been recovered by the discom under the scheme as of December 31,” said a PVVNL official.