DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

In an effort to bring quick transformation to Haryana's energy sector and take it to new heights, Energy Minister Sh. Anil Vij has given new mantras to the state's discoms and issued various directives to concerned officers/officials. These directives aim to ensure uninterrupted and full-voltage electricity is available to citizens 24/7.

Vij said that 39,477 wrong bills were generated by UHBVN and 18,240 by DHBVN. These will be corrected within the next month. Additionally, an online portal will be developed to track the status of pending electricity theft cases and facilitate their payments, including options like SMS-based payment.

An awareness campaign will also be launched soon in rural areas to encourage timely payment of electricity bills, he asserted.

Vij shared that the total defaulting amount is Rs.538.13 crores for UHBVN and Rs.1,500 crores for DHBVN. Targets have been set for their recovery under which Rs.100 crore in April, Rs. 200 crore in May, Rs.238 crore in June 2025 by the UHBVN and Rs. 300 crore in April, Rs. 600 crore in May, Rs. 600 crore in June 2025 by the DHBVN.

During the review meeting, Sh. Vij gave directives related to reducing power company losses, preventing electricity theft, replacing faulty transformers, ensuring consumer facilities, recovering pending dues, tracking defaulter connections, linking consumer Aadhaar numbers with electricity connections, correcting wrong bills, organizing Bijli Adalats, improving infrastructure, monitoring call centers and spreading awareness through various mediums.

Presiding over the meeting, Sh. Vij instructed officers/officials to coordinate with relevant government departments and submit files at the HQ level for the swift recovery of defaulting amount from government connections.

He also directed that in the case of old PDCO (permanent disconnection order) legacy defaulters, notices should be issued in the first phase to those who owe over Rs. 80,000 in UHBVN and over Rs.1 lakh in DHBVN under the Land Recovery Act.

In old PDCO cases (Legacy defaulters), it has been reported by the field officers that actual pending amount is far less than the amount reflected in the statement due to duplicate bills in R-APDRP system. It has been directed that duplicate bills/ inflated bills be identified and corrected on priority.

The Energy Minister directed that defaulter consumers who have taken new connections in other sub-divisions while staying at the same premises be traced.

He also emphasized that there should be no defaulters in the industrial, NDS, and DS (urban) categories and that Aadhaar linking for all domestic consumers must be ensured. Regular field checks should be carried out for PDCO consumers to prevent unauthorised use or theft of electricity.

To resolve bill-related grievances, Sh. Vij directed that Bijli Adalats be held at the circle level every Tuesday. Each Superintending Engineer must ensure that all billing complaints are addressed and resolved.

(editor@dailyworld.in)