Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s poll promise of providing 100 units of electricity free for all domestic consumers raised hopes among the people when she assumed charge in May. But their hopes have been dashed.
Domestic consumers, particularly those using more than 500 units in two months, did not find any difference in their electricity bills and in some cases, they see that the electricity charges have only risen. The beneficiaries, experts said, were those using 200 to 300 units in two months.
A senior official of TANGEDCO said the implementation of the scheme had burdened the State exchequer with an additional Rs. 1,607 crore, as 1.35 crore domestic consumers out of 1.90 crore consumers would not be paying any electricity charges.
N. Shakuntala, a resident of Valasaravakkam, does not find any great change in her electricity bill charges since she came in the 500 + units category. Her latest bimonthly bill for June and July shows Rs. 3,886 as charges against 810 units used, whereas electricity charges for April and May were Rs. 3,846 for 760 units.
J. Balaji, a resident of Thiru Vi. Ka. Nagar, in north Chennai, said the 100 units free electricity scheme helped in a marginal decrease of Rs. 100 to Rs. 150 in his electricity bill, as he used fewer than 500 units.
It was a problem, perhaps, of perception. Residents in the city believed that the free 100 units would be subtracted from the total units used before arriving at the charge payable in some instances, thus enabling one to slip below the 500 units threshold.
At present, consumers using above 500 units are paying a maximum of Rs. 6.60 per unit while those in the bottom of the pile at 100 units, pay only Rs. 2 a unit.
However, officials of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) placed the free units in the lowest slab, allowing a concession of Rs. 200 for those using between 201 units and 500 units and a maximum benefit of Rs. 350 for those using more than 500 units.
Benefit not passed onT. Sadagopan, consumer activist from Pattabhiram, alleged that “the 100 units of free electricity” scheme had in no way helped in conservation of electricity. In fact, it encouraged people to use more electricity by distributing free electrical appliances. He complained that the benefits of free electricity were not being passed on to tenants by their landlords.
The consumer activist instead wanted the government to focus on providing subsidised LED lights like the Karnataka government did. He wanted TANGEDCO to focus on promoting solar energy by providing subsidy quickly as it involved a big capital investment.
