Kicked off with a lot of expectation last November, the instalment power dues payment scheme of the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) is not having the anticipated revenue generation effect.
In the past nearly three months, the discom has recovered only ₹5.18 crore, of an outstanding amount of ₹51 crore, through the easy instalment scheme.
Chief engineer Virendra Nath Singh said PVVNL had identified 45,000 defaulters, who had not cleared their dues. “This scheme is for consumers who have connections with a load lesser than 4Kw and have not cleared their outstanding dues yet. After launching the easy instalment scheme on November 11, 2019, 15,000 defaulters got their registration done under the scheme. Of them, nearly 14,500 have deposited ₹5.18 crore towards outstanding dues. They will deposit their remaining dues of ₹11.9 crore in 12 or 24 equal instalments. No surcharge will be imposed on them as they have been registered under this scheme,” he said.
Singh further said in terms of registration, 34% consumers have been enrolled under the scheme. “So far, our recovery against dues is a little over 10%, which is not encouraging. This is the main reason why we have extended its last date of registration from December 31, 2019, to January 31, 2020. This scheme is exclusively for those defaulters who have taken a power load of less than 4 kilowatt. If they refuse to be registered under the scheme by January 31, we will have no option but to permanently disconnect their lines from February 1,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Singh further said in terms of registration, 34% consumers have been enrolled under the scheme. “So far, our recovery against dues is a little over 10%, which is not encouraging. This is the main reason why we have extended its last date of registration from December 31, 2019, to January 31, 2020. This scheme is exclusively for those defaulters who have taken a power load of less than 4 kilowatt. If they refuse to be registered under the scheme by January 31, we will have no option but to permanently disconnect their lines from February 1,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The chief engineer also said during the disconnection drive, the PVVNL is raiding all defaulters who have taken a power load of over 4 kilowatt and have not paid their dues despite repeated reminders. “We are making regular crackdowns against such defaulters. The total number of defaulters is over 5,500, and their dues amount to nearly ₹29 crore. Of them, 1,500 consumers have cleared all outstanding dues of nearly ₹2 crore,” he said.
The chief engineer also said besides the disconnection drive, the PVVNL has also started raids in areas prone to power theft. “During different drives to check power theft, since August 2019, over 1,000 FIRs have been lodged against power thieves under Section 135 and Section 158B of Electricity Act, 2003, at our anti-power theft police station in Sector 63. We can take these cases back, once the power thieves pay the fine imposed on them,” he said.
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