PSPCL comes up with ‘voluntary disclosure scheme’ for consumers
Our Correspondent
Ludhiana, November17
After a big blow from hike in power tariff announced last month, consumers have something to cheer about as the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL has come out with a voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS) for domestic (DS), non-residential (NRS/commercial), small power (SP) and agricultural power (AP) consumers across the state.
While the VDS for domestic, NRS and SP consumers would remain open for six months, consumers under AP (tubewells) would be able to declare and get regularised their unauthorised load without any penalty for four months.
Announcing the VDS, the PSPCL said need was felt to introduce a VDS with the objective that consumers, while taking connection, would have declared a load as per their installation at that time. But with the passage of time may have added more load without getting it regularised from the utility.
Therefore, due to the introduction of two-part tariff, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission has directed to allow VDS for DS, NRS and SP category of consumers. The scheme would provide an opportunity to such consumers to get their additional connected load regularised without any penalty.
As per the commercial circular (52/2017) of the PSPCL, the VDS shall remain available for six months from the date of issue of the amendment to the tariff order for the financial year 2017-18 (from November 9, 2017 to May 8, 2018).
To avail the VDS, consumers would have to pay normal service connection charges for regularisation and load declaration shall be accepted without any charges and receipt properly acknowledged. Applicable charges for load regularisation, if any, shall be recoverable through separate bill-cum-notice and the load shall be deemed to be regularised from the date of submission of the self-declaration pro forma.
In the case of agricultural power (AP) consumers, the scheme would come in force from the date of issue of commercial circular 51/2017 (November 15, 2017) and remain open for four months.
The PSPCL has directed the field officers/ enforcement agencies to visit the premises of AP consumers to verify the connected load and to assist consumers in the correct assessment of unauthorised load, if any, which needs to be regularised. However, no penalty/ load surcharge on the un-authorised load so detected by checking agencies or self-declared by the consumer shall be levied during the period the VDS scheme remains operative. However, consumers shall be required to either remove unauthorised load under intimation to the PSPCL or get it regularised under the VDS.
The AP consumer shall be required to pay service connection charges for the extended load as per regulation 9 of the Supply Code 2014 and at applicable rates approved by the Commission in the cost data (Rs4,500 per BHP and initial security of Rs200 per BHP for the extended/ additional load as per presently applicable schedule of general charges.
The VDS lays down that in case of AP unmetered consumers, the total load including unauthorised load should not increase 20 BHP. Any regularisation of load above 20 BHP shall be subject to consumer’s consent to get metered supply.
