UPPCL ready with yet another OTS scheme
power disconnection campaign as well to ensure the scheme yields better results.
The UPPCL last brought the OTS in October 2021 initially for a period of one month but the scheme got at least three extensions till it came to an end on January 31 this year. The last OTS launched amid promises for free power and dues waiver by political parties before assembly polls evoked poor response from consumers as it could fetch only Rs 2500 crore revenue to the corporation.
“The UPPCL’s arrears against the non-government consumers are believed to have further increased since because many consumers stopped paying their bills anticipating dues waiver by the next government that came to power after assembly election as well as the UPPCL’s inability to get tough with defaulters due to polls,” the official said.
The UPPCL is said to be in a precarious financial state. While it is under a greater pressure to avoid load shedding by purchasing more electricity, the corporation is not getting desired revenue from consumers because of which the gap between expenditure and income is widening making it difficult for it to keep the supply on the track.
According UPPCL’s official
A proposal for introduction of the OTS has already been moved to the chief minister’s office. The scheme that will allow consumers to pay their arrears in easy instalments without interest is likely to come into effect from June 1.
data, as on April 1, 2021, more than 99 lakh of total 3 crore consumers had never paid their electricity bills in the state, the total dues against them being as high as more than Rs 30,000 crore. Around 1.67 lakh such consumers were found to have arrears of more than Rs 1 lakh each pending against them. It was found 30-35% rural consumers never turned up to pay their monthly bills.
Apart from this, power dues to the tune of more than Rs 11,000 crore are pending against various government departments as well.
A presentation given by the UPPCL to the chief minister recently, on the other hand, put the corporation’s liabilities of paying dues to power generating companies at Rs 20,367 crore in lieu of electricity it purchased from them to sell the same to retail consumers. It owed more than Rs 13,000 crore to the stateowned Vidyut Utpadan Nigam alone.
The same presentation showed the UPPCL’s accumulated deficit to be above Rs 70,500 crore with the corporation’s daily loss due to the gap between expenditure and revenue collection being around Rs 60 crore after factoring the government subsidy.
This time, the UPPCL is planning a state-wide disconnection drive too along with the OTS, so that the maximum number of defaulters is forced to clear their arrears. “Most defaulters will not be able to afford disconnection during the current heat and may find themselves compelled to opt for the OTS,” another senior official said.