VIJAYAWADA: Principal Secretary (Energy, Investments and Infrastructure) Ajay Jain has said that the State will initiate stringent action against the officials who collect power bills from beneficiaries of the Jagjivan Jyothi scheme. He was speaking in reference to the incidents where the beneficiaries were asked to pay the bill for the power used.
In a teleconference with 6,000 officials and staff of the power sector on Thursday, Ajay Jain also directed the officials to immediately reimburse the money collected erroneously. “Stringent action, including suspension, will be initiated against the local linemen and engineering staff who fail to implement the scheme and collect electricity bills from the beneficiaries. CM Naidu has agreed for the extension of free power to 100 units a month from the previous 75 units,” he explained.
He also told the officials to create awareness on the implementation of the scheme by printing about the initiative on all power bills generated. It may be noted that the free power scheme is for the SC/ST consumers who use up to 125 units of power a month. Around 22 lakh SC/ST consumers will get the benefit, which would cost the State exchequer Rs 229 crore annually. The expenditure incurred by the power utilities will be reimbursed by the Social Welfare department.
APGENCO wins two Skoch awards
APGENCO has won Skoch awards for its performance in various categories. In the award ceremony held in New Delhi, its Director, G Chandrasekhara Raju and the AP Solar Power Corporation Ltd MD Adiseshu received the Skoch Silver Award for APGENCO under Energy category and Skoch Gold Award for AP Solar Power Ltd for the Kurnool Solar Park. APGENCO and the AP Solar Power Corporation Ltd also bagged Skoch Order of Merit Award for qualifying among the top 20 energy projects in India.