9 hours Ago By The Hans India
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government’s ‘Gruha Jyoti’ scheme, which provides free electricity up to 200 units for every household, is not benefiting those who have recently constructed their homes or changed rental properties. The scheme was implemented on July 1, 2023, based on the average electricity units consumed during the fiscal year 2022-23. Customers began receiving benefits from August 1, 2023.
However, because the average electricity consumption was not updated after the scheme was launched, new customers with electricity connections are missing out on full benefits. It has been nearly a year since the scheme was introduced, and Energy Minister K.J.
George had announced that the average electricity consumption would be revised after one year. Despite this, no updates have been made so far. New customers, lacking a ‘usage history,’ are being allotted a maximum of 58 units as free electricity—based on the average units consumed by all state customers—despite many using within the 200-unit limit.
This means that even if a new consumer uses up to 200 units, they will still have to pay for the additional units beyond the allocated free usage. When the ‘Gruha Jyoti’ scheme was initiated, certain rules were established by the government. It was stipulated that the average unit consumption should be determined annually based on the previous fiscal year’s consumption, and this should also apply to new connections.
Due to the lack of a revised average usage figure, new homeowners are left with only 58 units of free electricity despite potentially consuming within the 200-unit threshold, resulting in their exclusion from the full benefits of the scheme. To accommodate tenants, a ‘D-Link’ system allows continuity of the previous average consumption, but if the average usage is updated, it will incur a financial burden of `500-600 crores. Thus, there is currently no proposal to revise the average consumption figure, and no discussions on the matter have taken place.
The free units allocated under the ‘Gruha Jyoti’ scheme are based on calculating the average electricity units consumed within a year for the given RR number. This average has not been revisited for over a year since the scheme’s launch. For those who constructed new homes one year ago and applied for the free electricity benefits, a recalculation should have been made based on their prior year’s usage, which the government has not facilitated.
Since the scheme was implemented, newly built homes only receive 58 units of free electricity. Customers using between 135-199 units monthly should have had their free electricity units increased based on their yearly averages. However, due to the government’s inaction, anything beyond 58 units incurs charges, preventing widespread access to free electricity.
For instance, if a tenant previously used 98 units with no billed costs and the new tenant uses 150 units, the new tenant would not receive the entire free benefit. If 98 units are automatically free, they would need to pay for 52 units used beyond that. The average was previously set based on the 2022-23 fiscal year, which contributes to this issue.
While one tenant in the past used 250 units, the new tenant uses only 150, yet they are still denied the ‘Gruha Jyoti’ benefits because the average is set based on the previous tenant’s consumption during the given fiscal year. The average usage figure will not be revised until 2025-26, meaning only those using below 200 units will continue to miss out on full benefits from the scheme. Attempts to reach Energy Minister K.
J. George and Additional Chief Secretary of the Energy Department for comments regarding the incomplete benefits of the ‘Gruha Jyoti’ scheme were unsuccessful, as they did not answer calls..
