73.54% consumers received zero electricity bills in Delhi
Delhi is the only state in India with no electricity tariff hike in the past six years
The Delhi government's free-electricity scheme is an example of ‘smart governance’ as it is encouraging Delhiites to reduce their power consumption. In August, the Delhi government had announced free-electricity of up to 200 units for domestic consumers and later extended the scheme to tenants residing in the national capital. In December 2020, 38 lakh consumers received Zero Bills for consumption under 200 units. This last one year has been a very tough year, especially in terms of the financial condition of the government. Significantly, despite all the limitations, the Delhi government has maintained all the development schemes for the citizens of Delhi. Lakhs of consumers have received the benefit of zero electricity bill when the pandemic wreaked havoc in their lives, thousands and thousands of people lost their jobs and suffered a lot. Delhi has total of 51,98,533 consumers and 73.54% of these consumers received zero bills which is around 38,23,232. Talking to Twitter, CM Arvind Kejriwal said that residents of the city were trying to consume less than 200 units of electricity to avail the benefit. Under the scheme, people consuming electricity between 201 units and 400 units are eligible to avail up to Rs 800 per month subsidy from the government on their bills. The Delhi government had also announced ‘Mukhyamantri Kirayedar Bijli Meter Yojana' under which tenants can also avail the free-electricity scheme. Delhi is the only state in India with no tariff hike in energy charges for domestic consumers
since the past 6 years - Delhi has the most progressive tariff structure, rewarding low electricity consumption by providing big subsidies. The Delhi government has also drastically improved the power infrastructure of Delhi which has helped to bring down power cuts. The Delhi government has also tried to develop the infrastructure of alternative sources of generating electricity. In the last one year, the Delhi government has given an immense focus on the solar power infrastructure. The solar power system not only has the potential to generate a lot of electricity but also this is absolutely environment friendly. The Delhi government has developed and installed over 13 megawatts (MW) of solar rooftop plants across 150 Delhi government schools during last one year. These are expected to save about Rs 5 crores on electricity bills cumulatively each year, apart from earning Rs 6 crores from selling power.