CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday announced 300 units of free power every month to domestic consumers from July 1 onwards. There is a rider to the free power, however. Mann said if a household consumes more than 600 units in two months, it will not be entitled for the benefit and will have to pay the full electricity bill.
The CM said families belonging to Scheduled Castes and freedom fighters, who were earlier getting 200 units of power free, will also get 300 units of free power per month now. However, if these families consume more than 600 units in two months, they will not be charged the full bill but will only have to pay for the additional units.
Putting the rumours to rest that the farmers will be charges for power, Mann said there is no such plan and added that the free power to farmers and subsidised power to industry would continue. He also said there would be no increase in the electricity tariff for industrial consumers.
The state government also announced to waive dues of old electricity bills up to December 31, 2021, of households having load up to 2 kw. Providing free electricity up to 300 units was one of the first pre-poll promises made by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal in Punjab, besides waiving the pending domestic bill payments.
Mann said Delhi purchases power from two private companies and despite that 73 per cent people there get free power. After Mann’s announcements, Kejriwal took to twitter and said that the AAP in Punjab had fulfilled its poll promise of free electricity as the party did not make false promises like other parties.