PSPCL free electricity notification: AAP government's free power scheme comes with T&C - Details

PSPCL free electricity notification: Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has issued a notification on how to avail 300 units of free electricity per month in the state. 

The corporation has set some conditions for domestic category consumers -- scheduled castes, backward castes, non-SC below-poverty-line (BPL) and BC BPL, on availing of free electricity. The corporation has made it mandatory for such consumers to fill up a self-declaration form.

The corporation has also exempted domestic category consumers, who consume up to 600 units in two months, from payment of any charge, meter rent or taxes. Punjab has a two-month billing cycle for power supply.

“Consumers belonging to scheduled castes, backward castes, below-poverty-line households and freedom fighters along with their successors (up to grandchildren) will have to submit self-declaration forms for availing free electricity of 300 units per month,” as per the notification issued by PSPCL, which falls under Punjab government.

According to the notification, a consumer will have to pay for the entire power usage if the consumption exceeds 600 units in two months.  But the SC, BCs, below-poverty-line households and freedom fighters' categories will be charged just for over and above 600 units.

CONDITIONS FOR FREE ELECTRICITY 
A consumer should declare that he or his family member was not currently occupying any constitutional post or had occupied such post in the past, according to the self-declaration form meant for SC, BC, BPL households, and freedom fighters.

The consumer or his family member should not be a minister or former minister or should not be a member or former member of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Sabha or mayor or ex-mayor of the municipal corporation.

Such consumers or their family members should also not be serving in state or central government departments as regular employees. However, it is not applicable to employees of D group category.

The monthly family pension should not be above Rs 10,000. 

The consumer or his family member should not be a doctor, engineer, advocate, chartered accountant or architect., as per the self-declaration form.

The consumer or any family member of such categories should also not have paid income tax in the last financial year, as per the form.

The consumer will have to inform the department when he/she or his/her family member comes under the ambit of Income Tax.

The self-declaration form was required to be submitted earlier as well by the SC, BC, BPL and freedom fighters when they were availing 200 units per month during the previous regimes, according to a PSPCL official.

Free electricity was one of the key promises that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has promised to the people of Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections held earlier this year. State's Power Minister Harbhajan Singh said the state government has fulfilled a major pre-poll guarantee about the free 300 units of electricity per month.

In case bimonthly consumption exceeds 600 units or monthly consumption exceeds 300 units, the SC, BC, Non-SC/BC BPL and freedom fighters who fulfil the conditions as per the self-declaration shall pay energy charges only for the units consumed in excess of 600 units bimonthly/300 units monthly, along with fixed charges, meter rentals and government levies/taxes, he said in a statement here.

With PTI Inputs