New Delhi: People in the national capital will not have to pay anything for consuming upto 200 units of power per month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday.
Kejriwal claimed that Delhi is now supplying the cheapest electricity in the country. The new scheme has been implemented from August 1.
“People consuming till 200 units of electricity in a month won’t have to pay the electricity bills. Their bills will be waived from August 1,” he said.
But if a consumer uses 201 units in a month, “he will have to pay the full charge”, he said.
“For consumption of electricity between 201 and 400 units per month, about 50 per cent of subsidy will be provided on the electricity bill,” Kejriwal said.
When top officials and government people can get free electricity, so can a common man, the Chief Minister added.
Tracing the journey of major electricity sector reforms in Delhi, Kejriwal said when his government was formed four-and-a-half years ago, the electricity sector was in a complete mess.
“Today electricity consumers are getting 24×7 electricity at cheapest rates in the country, discoms’ financial health has improved considerably, electricity infrastructure has been strengthened beyond imagination and people no longer need inverters and generators in Delhi.”
The Chief Minister said the foundation for electricity sector reforms in Delhi was laid during his 15-day fast on the issue in March 2013.
“There were four major issues with respect to electricity when we came in. First, each year Delhi’s power tariffs would be hiked arbitrarily. People were extremely concerned about their rising power bills.
“Second, discoms were on the verge of bankruptcy, and a blackout was imminent. Third, the power infrastructure of Delhi was crumbling. The cables, transformers needed to supply electricity had not been changed for years.
“Transformers were burning up. No investment was being made for augmentation and maintenance of the existing infrastructure,” he said.
He also said that the power cuts were a harsh reality of that time. “People had to rely on generator sets and inverters to access 24×7 power.”