The Karnataka government on Monday launched the ‘Gruha Jyoti’ free electricity scheme, one of the five poll guarantees promised by the ruling Congress in its election manifesto, to be implemented from 1.
The guarantee offers domestic consumers up to 200 units of electricity for free. According to the order issued today, the government said the scheme will be applicable only for domestic use and not for commercial connections.
Under the scheme, the government will take into account the annual average energy consumption in the financial year 2022-23 and provide free electricity up to 10 per cent more than the average consumption.
If a consumer uses an average of about 150 units of electricity per month, he can get up to 165 units of energy for free. If it exceeds the limit, then it will have to pay for the rest of the consumed units, which will be the net power consumption.
However, if the consumption exceeds 200 units of energy, the consumer will have to pay the full amount of the electricity bill. Consumers must pay arrears by June 30 within three months.
Electricity meter consumption and meter reading are mandatory. The total electricity consumption will be indicated in the monthly bill, the order stated.
Each recipient must link the customer ID or account ID with the Aadhaar number. No consumer can integrate more than one electricity meter into the system.
Those who want to avail the benefits will have to register on the state government’s ‘Seva Sindhu’ portal. The government also said that the beneficiaries of ‘Bhagya Jyoti’, ‘Kuteera Jyoti’ and ‘Amruta Jyoti’, various existing schemes offering free electricity to economically and socially backward communities, will be merged with the ‘Gruha Jyoti’ scheme.
The government said the cost of free electricity provided to consumers would be reimbursed to electricity supply companies.
Apart from the introduction of ‘Gruha Jyoti’, the government has also issued orders to implement the ‘Shakti’ scheme of free bus travel for women from June 11.
