Gruha Jyothi: Only energy charges to be paid if power consumption crosses monthly average

BENGALURU: After the Congress government announced implementation of the Gruha Jyothi scheme wherein 200 units of power will be provided free for consumers with a cap of 10 per cent excess use annually, citizens have been complaining that the government is deliberately coming up with such clauses and feel that it should not have done so.

There are also several questions being raised on how much a consumer will have to pay it the consumption exceeds the 10 per cent threshold but still falls within the 200 units limit. Following this, the government has released detailed guidelines for the scheme.

If a consumer exceeds the 10 per cent treshold, he will have to pay only the net bill amount. For example, if a consumer’s average consumption if 50 units per month, he is eligible to 55 units under the Gruha Jyothi scheme. However, if the consumption jumps to 65 units, he will have to pay only the energy charges for the excess 10 units.

Every month, the meter reading will be taken and the monthly average consumption will be considered. For any additional usage, the consumer will have to pay the unit bill towards energy charges. If the usage does not exceed the average, a zero bill will be issued. Also, beneficiaries of Bhagya Jyothi, Kuteera Jyothi and Amrut Jyothi schemes will be brought under the Gruha Jyothi scheme.

Bescom officials explained that the measures have been introduced to that there is no misuse of the Gruha Jyothi scheme. They said even tenants in rented houses are eligible for the scheme benefit by producing their Aadhaar card and rental agreement and should be domicile of Karnataka.

Those wanting to avail of the scheme benefit will have to apply on the Seva Sindhu portal of the state government and link their customer ID/account ID with their Aadhaar number compulsorily. Tenants can produce their rental agreement along with Aadhaar number to register.

Those from outside the state should provide proof of domicile in Karnataka, like Aadhaar card or voter ID, to avail the benefit and will not be eligible for the scheme if they are registered as voters in another state.