Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 3: The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has created a separate Below Poverty Line (BPL) consumer category for the Jammu and Kashmir— allowing the socio-economic backward consumers relief on power consumption up to 30 units a month.
The government recently informed the house that the Commission has created a separate BPL consumer category to provide relief to socio-economic backward consumers for consumption of up to 30 units per month.
“It should be noted that only those consumers who submit a BPL certificate from a competent authority of the State Government will be included in the BPL category,” the government said.
It also informed the house that in case consumption within this category exceeds 30 units per month, the consumption over and above it would be charged as per the applicable rates for the domestic metered category in accordance with the relevant consumption slab.
Furthermore, the government also said that the commission has fixed the applicability of the domestic tariff for supplies pertaining to domestic premises, religious institutions, group housing societies, orphanages, old-age and infirm homes, charitable institutions providing services free of cost or on nominal charges, post offices at residences of villagers and residential premises of architects, engineers, advocates, doctors, teachers, artists, weavers, stitching and embroidery workers occupying not more than 20 percent of built-up area for respective professional purposes.
“This tariff category is applicable to electricity used for operating various appliances such as lighting, heating, cooling, cooking, washing, cleaning, entertainment or leisure, water pumping, etc,” the government said.
It also informed that the group housing societies can avail of single-point power supply. The energy bill of a housing society shall be divided by the number of houses in it to determine the consumption of each house.
About the tariff for non-domestic and commercial supply category, the government informed the house that this tariff category shall be applicable to the shops, showrooms, business houses, offices, educational or technical institutions, clubs, meeting halls, places of public entertainment, hotels, cinemas, hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, nursing homes, X-ray units, diagnostic centres, pathological labs, fisheries, aquaculture, sericulture, dairy, hatcheries, printing presses—other than those qualifying to be charged under the LT industrial supply category, milk chilling centres—other than those specifically mentioned under Agricultural Supply, poultry farms, cattle breeding farms, nurseries, plantations, mushroom growing.
It also said that this tariff category shall be applicable to carpenters and furniture makers, juice centres, hoardings and advertisement services, typing institutes, internet cafes, STD/ISD PCOs, photocopying shops, tailoring shops, photo studios and colour labs, laundries, cycle shops, compressors for filling air, restaurants, eating establishments, guest houses, marriage gardens, welding transformer and lathe machines for repair works and services, book binders, petrol pumps and service stations, lifts and other appliances in shopping centres and offices, tourist house-boats, and other similar establishments.
“In addition, any connection not covered under other categories shall be billed under this category. However, this would exclude connections pertaining to State or Central Government or Defence services, which have been included in a separate category,” the government said.
