Interim power bills for April

After lifting of lockdown, actual consumption will be recorded, bills adjusted thereafter

Hyderabad: Electricity consumers will get ‘interim bills’ for April based on their previous power consumption patterns, said the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Since distribution companies have not been able to record meter readings of consumers due to the ongoing lockdown, interim bills will be issued for April. The adjusted bills based on actual consumption will be issued after the lockdown was lifted.

Electricity consumers in the state will get ‘interim bills’ for April based on their previous power consumption patterns, as per a decision taken by the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC).

According to orders released by the commission on Tuesday, distribution companies have not been able to record meter readings of consumers due to the ongoing lockdown following the outbreak of coronavirus. Because of this, only interim bills will be issued for April.

Immediately after lifting of the lockdown by the state government, the actual consumption will be recorded and bills adjusted thereafter.

The TSERC said for LT-I domestic connections existing since March 2019 or earlier, the bill to be issued this April will be equal to the bill amount for April 2019. Consumers who have received connection between April 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020, the bill generated this April will be equal to the bill they received in March 2020. For consumers who received a new connection this March, the bill will be for minimum power demand for each of such connections.

For all other LT categories except agriculture, the new bills will be 50 per cent of the bill amount for April 2019 if they have been consumers before March 2019, with similar timelines for active power connections, TSERC clarified. It said consumers will be intimated about estimated bills through digital channels, such as SMS, mobile apps, websites and so on.

The commission further said transmission and distribution companies will be exempt from making payments to generating stations for three months because of the lockdown impacting revenues. It maintained that these relaxations are as per the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission guidelines.

DISTRIBUTION companies have not been able to record meter readings of consumers due to the ongoing lockdown following the outbreak of coronavirus