Ahead of elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the State government has introduced a "people-friendly" reform by doing away with the requirement of an occupancy certificate (OC) for power supply for households in Bengaluru. About five lakh households benefit from this change in the rule.
The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has notified the Conditions of Supply of Electricity of Distribution Licensees in the State of Karnataka (Tenth Amendment), 2022, on July 1, 2022.
Minister for Energy V. Sunil Kumar on Saturday said residential buildings, businesses, educational institutions, hospitals, and other commercial establishments can get power supply without having to produce an OC. He said the government had amended a rule introduced by the previous Congress government that caused “harassment” to commercial and domestic power users, Mr. Kumar said in a video released to the media.
"About five lakh families in the BBMP limits have been denied electricity supply as OCs have been made mandatory for power connections,” he said. He claimed the earlier rule went against the provision of the electricity law.
Urban local bodies across the State issue OCs to declare a building fit for accommodation. ULBs deny OCs for buildings that violated building laws by constructing additional floors or increasing building space.
Mr. Kumar said legislators from Bengaluru had given petitions to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on several occasions seeking a change in the rule to supply electricity. The KERC received comments/ suggestions/ views/ objections from the stakeholders. The commission also held a public hearing on June 23, 2022, on the matter. The final notification was published in the official gazette on Friday.
The Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) too had requested the Mr. Bommai to exempt the industries from providing occupancy certificate for obtaining the electricity supply connection.
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