MADURAI: As many as 4,490 commercial connections and 5,900 domestic connections were merged by the Tangedco officials in Madurai city within the last nine months, and a total of Rs 55 lakh was collected as charge by the officials. It may be noted that the merger is carried out for those availing multiple connections within the same family or single business in one building complex in Madurai.
According to Tangedco records, a total of 50,600 service connections under the domestic category were inspected and 5,900 service connections were merged. Local officials inspected over 27,000 service connections in commercial establishments, and 4,490 service connections were merged. The field inspections were carried out from May 27, 2024 till January 2025.
According to an office bearer from TNEB Retired Employees Union, these inspections are carried out by the Tangedco, as the institution has been facing a huge financial burden. "It is likely that few domestic consumers could get upset over the merger.
For instance, two small families with individual power consumption of over 150-200 units could suffer, as they would lose the 100-unit free electricity for two families. However, commercial shops also indulge in similar practices," he said.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from Tangedco (Madurai) said, "During the domestic category inspection in Madurai city, most of the mergers were in Madurai south zone. Around 500 mergers were carried out in areas such as KK Nagar, Koil, Keelavasal and Tamil Sangam.
Besides, Jhansi and Town hall areas saw 300 mergers each, and these were houses belonging to the same family. During the inspections for 27,000 service connections under commercial categories, around 4,000 consumers objected to our merger. However, we had to reject their objections. Around Rs 55 lakh has been generated through the mergers"