Now, surcharge waiver for power bill defaulters

Gurgaon: Power discoms have started waivers of electricity surcharge for those with pending bills from Thursday, a week after the chief minister announced it. The surcharge will be waived if a defaulter makes a lump sum payment, discom officials said. Consumers can also make payments in instalments.
Those who pay the outstanding principal amount in one go will get an additional discount of 5%. For all other consumers, late payment surcharge will be re-calculated at the rate of 10% per annum, whereas at present it is calculated at the rate of 1.5% per month.
According to the power department, the total arrears of domestic (rural) consumers amount to Rs 4,969 crore, while those of domestic (urban) consumers is Rs 459 crore, including principal and surcharge.
DHBVN managing director PC Meena said a notification for the surcharge waiver scheme has been issued. Under this scheme, consumers can clear pending electricity bills till November 30 to avail the benefit of the surcharge waiver. “The scheme will be applicable for the next three months,” he said.
The scheme will be applicable for consumers whose connections were disconnected for not paying bills from December 31, 2021 onwards, the discom said.
The connection can be restored after making partial payment of the principal amount, while the remaining amount can be paid in six instalments. Along with the instalments, consumers will also have to pay the current bill. “If consumers fail to clear pending bills along with the current bill in six instalments, the waived surcharge amount will be added to the principal amount, and the consumer won’t be able to avail the benefit of the surcharge waiver,” said Meena.