Pay power arrears before Jan 15 or face disconnection: CESU

The Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU), the power distribution company of Odisha, has asked domestic consumers to pay their arrears before January 15 or face disconnection of power supply.

The arrears from domestic consumers and commercial consumers stand at Rs 1,971 crore, CESU chief executive officer (CEO) Arun Bothra said at a press conference here.

The CESU, he said, is keen on providing uninterrupted power to its consumers for which it needs to upgrade the infrastructure.

"Unless we have money, we cannot upgrade the infrastructure," he pointed out.

Among the defaulters, 92 per cent are domestic consumers, 7.1 per cent are commercial hubs like shops and malls and the remaining are industrial units, government and private offices, Bothra said on Tuesday.

Replying to a question, Bothra said of the total arrears, Rs 108 crore relates to industrial units, and it could not be realized as the matter is sub-judice.

The company will send SMS to domestic consumers and commercial hubs like shops and mall in advance to pay their arrears, he said.