Aadhaar link to collect details of consumers: Senthil Balaji

CHENNAI: In an exclusive interview to TNIE, Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji on Monday said over 15 lakh of Tangedco’s 2.5 crore consumers have linked their service number with Aadhaar. He added that subsidies to domestic, agricultural, power loom, and handloom sectors would continue.

Excerpts:
 
Initially, you gave only a couple of days to link Aadhaar. After Tangedco’s main portal crashed, you said there was time till December 31. Why so much confusion?
There was no confusion at all. We issued a detailed government order regarding this before the introduction of Aadhaar linking. I say this again: There will be no issue in providing subsidies. As for server issues, they are common.

Last week, Tangedco officials did not accept payments from consumers who were yet to link Aadhaar. Why?
We issued no such instruction, but this might have taken place in a few places. 

Currently, Tangedco offers options for tenants as well to link their Aadhaar. But, house owners might face uncertainty in future if they cannot remove the tenant’s registration after they vacate the house. Is there any solution to this problem?
We will find a permanent solution. My personal opinion is that house owners should link their Aadhaar with electricity service number.

If a consumer has multiple houses with separate power connections and had rented them out, how can the linking be done?
They can submit their Aadhaar for all the connections. No issue.

What will happen if a consumer chooses to not link Aadhaar?
Nothing. There is no time limit (to link Aadhaar with service numbers). We, however, advise those availing themselves of subsidy to do the linking. The purpose is to get consumer details and update connection ownership, if needed. This apart, it’s essential to reduce Aggregate, Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses that stands at 15% now. To avoid such issues, Aadhaar linking is necessary.