No electricity for 12 hours, residents rue hiked bills

Residents, who are reeling under 10-12 hour power cuts, were in for a shock when they received new electricity bills with hiked charges.

Residents, who are reeling under 10-12 hour power cuts, were in for a shock when they received new electricity bills with hiked charges.

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Two months ago, the Haryana government had hiked tariffs by 10-16%. The domestic security deposit too had been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500.

A group of Gurgaon residents on Monday met DHBVN officials and lodged their protest over the ‘unjustified’ power tariff hike and poor service.

“We are now paying Rs 5.15 per unit instead of Rs 4.50. This hike, however, is not justified in view of the electricity shortage,” said AP Jain, a resident of Sushant Lok-1, adding that voltage fluctuation had damaged five of his electrical appliances.

The new rates have hit consumers living in private townships, especially where the developer has single point connections. “In Ardee City, the developer has taken a single point connection and collects 12% charges for electricity distribution services. This means that we have to pay around R6 per unit,” said TN Kaul, a resident. Domestic consumers comprise 55-60% of the total consumer strength of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (DHBVN).

The power distribution agency, meanwhile, has assured that the situation will improve once three power plants at Khedar, Yamunanagar and Jhajjar become operational by June 7.

“Three plants are not functioning at present but they will start working soon. We are procuring power from the market to fill the gap between demand and supply,” said Captain Ajay Singh, Haryana power minister.

Gurgaon is presently getting 120-130 lakh units daily against the peak season demand of 170-180 lakh units.