Power shocker coming up in June, July electricity bills in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Be cautious and start saving up to pay the electricity tariff for the months of June and July, before you avail of the Gruha Jyothi scheme. A week into June, consumers are yet to get electricity bills, and many are making inquiries to know if the bill is zero or if there is any error. 

Energy Minister KJ George on Wednesday said the delay in generating bills was because the department was calculating the amount based on the revision in KERC orders. 

Energy department officials explained that the delay was because of calibration due to the revision as per the power tariff order. Electricity bills generated will be on the higher side for the months of June and July and even till August first week, before the Gruha Jyothi scheme is implemented, because of the calculations being done. 

Back-end check for errors was also being done to ensure that Escoms do not bear any losses when consumers start availing of the free power scheme, the official added. However, there was no clarity whether consumers will have to pay a late fee, if the bills are generated late. 

The second round of revision in electricity bills will be done in August, when fuel adjustment charges will be imposed, as per KERC orders. This revision will have no impact on those whose consumption is below 200 units, but will have a major impact on those who use more power.

Linking RR number to Aadhaar
Around 90 per cent of RR numbers are not linked to Aadhaar. A couple of years after Aadhaar was introduced, Escoms had started the exercise of linking Aadhaar with RR numbers, and this was done with new connections, an official said.   

“So while we have RR numbers of consumers, we don’t have Aadhaar details. We are asking citizens to give their RR numbers and Aadhaar. We will match them back-end and if they match, the scheme will be given to the consumer. Most of the linking has been done in Bescom limits, but not in other Escoms,” the official said.