No physical electricity bills, new power connections suspended too

In the wake of the lockdown in Delhi, power distribution companies in Delhi have discontinued physical distribution of electricity bills, the discoms under BSES

In the wake of the lockdown in Delhi, power distribution companies in Delhi have discontinued physical distribution of electricity bills, the discoms under BSES said in a statement on Friday. Due to the reduction in its working staff, the discoms have also suspended other services such as meter reading and laying new connections.

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“On account of the enhanced containment measures and the safety of our consumers and employees, all physical distribution of bills and meter reading is being stopped till further notice. Consumers will be given provisional bills, based on the criteria laid down by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC),” the BSES said in a statement on Friday.

The company has two discoms under it—BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited. Delhi has around 55 lakh domestic electricity consumers.

“In support of the government’s measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, some of our services have been curtailed. We will not be registering requests for new connections until further orders. All existing appointments are also being postponed until further notice,” it said.

The company said it is also using the latest digital and online technologies to reach out to its consumers.

“Consumers can connect to BSES through our digital platforms like the BSES website, the mobile app, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, SMS and the call centre. This is critical for maintaining social distancing,” a spokesperson said.

The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party asked the Aam Aadmi Party government to defer the due date for payment of electricity bills for the month of April owing to the lockdown. It also urged the chief minister to levy domestic charges for commercial consumers for March and April.

“On the request of (chief minister Arvind) Kejriwal, landlords in Delhi have postponed collection or waived off rent payments for a month or so. In such a case, the government should also give a relaxation to landlords by extending the due date for payment of electricity bills,” said BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor, who also wrote to Kejriwal in this regard on Friday.