Discoms lure slum dwellers with schemes

A sensible decision four years ago has paid rich dividends for Ambedkar Nagar resident Kuresh Khatoon.

A sensible decision four years ago has paid rich dividends for Ambedkar Nagar resident Kuresh Khatoon.

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She and her husband Mohammad Nadeem had ignored advice from neighbours to tap supply lines to light up their home without paying anything and instead opted for a metered connection.

When Nadeem died in a recent road crash, Khatoon received R1 lakh from an insurance company that Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd had roped in to cover consumers in slums who chose to take metered connections.

The money has helped Khatoon and her children tide over the death of the sole breadwinner. This has also encouraged others to opt for legal electricity connections and avail of the benefits on offer.

Power distribution companies, including BSES and NDPL, are taking steps to woo more people who have illegal power connections to opt for metered lines.

This is being seen as a move by the companies to stem losses caused by rampant illegal tapping in the Capital.

The companies have used such attractive schemes to not only encourage slum dwellers to choose metered connections but also help reduce transmission and distribution costs from a high 53% to around 11%.

Tata Power's NDPL boasts of covering close to 1,62,000 consumers across 220 clusters in north and northwest Delhi.

Both NDPL and BSES also organise free health and drug de-addiction camps as part of their efforts to educate slum dwellers and convince them to take metered connections.