Registration for the State government’s guaranteed scheme of providing free power for those consuming less than 200 units per month commenced on Sunday, June 18.
Jayavibhava Swamy, MD of Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), said that in gram panchayat limits, the registration process gained traction post noon at Gram Panchayats and Grama One centres.
He said the registration will pick up momentum from Monday and they expect the numbers to be around 2 to 3 lakh across Karnataka per day. ‘’Nearly 1.75 crore to 2 crore people across the State are eligible for free power units and the numbers should be high if that many people are to complete the registration process,’’ he added.
Applications were being filed through the Seva Sindhu portal and the CESC MD said that he has sought for district-wise details which was being tabulated till late in the evening. There are more than 45 centres in the district where the registration process was being taken up including Karnataka One and Mysuru One centres.
However, no deadline has been set as of now for completion of the registration process for availing the benefits of Gruha Jyothi scheme.
97 per cent CESC consumers eligible
The CESC has its jurisdiction spread across Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Hassan and Kodagu and there are 25 lakh consumers. Of these 2.5 million consumers, only 3 per cent consume more than 200 units per month. ‘’Hence, 97 per cent of the CESC consumers are eligible for free power,’’ said Jayavibhava Swamy.
Meanwhile, the officials said the electricity supply companies across the State will not be burdened by the scheme as it was being subsidised by the government. But, critics have pointed out that in turn, the government will tax the public indirectly to meet the financial burden.
