COVID-19 lockdown: U'khand govt gives relief to power consumers

Uttarakhand Government on Tuesday announced waiver of certain charges on electricity bills, including late payment fee, for customers in different segments in view of the COVID-19 lockdown, according to a statement.

The waiver was being demanded by farmers, industries and commercial establishments, it said.

The statement said around 20,000 farmers will benefit as consumers in the Private Tubewell category will not have to pay late payment surcharge by June 30.

This waiver on electricity charges for farmers will create an additional burden of Rs 3.64 crore for the state government, it said.

For the time being, consumers in the industrial and commercial category will be exempted from paying fixed or demand charges against power consumption for March to May this year, the statement said.

The waiver for around 2.7 lakh consumers in the industrial and commercial category will create an additional burden of Rs 8 crore for the state government, it said.

Besides, consumers making online payment of electricity bills in all categories by the payable date will get one per cent concession on their bills, the statement said.

It would mean concession of a maximum of Rs 1 lakh to High Tension category consumers and a maximum concession of around Rs 10,000 to consumers in the Low Tension segment.

Apart from these relief measures, the government announced that there will be no disconnection due to non-payment of electricity bills till June 30.