No power connection will be cut till April 14 for non-payment of bill: TN govt

Earlier, the TANGEDCO had stated that consumers shall pay their bimonthly bill as per the previous readings since staff were not able to take meter readings amid the lockdown.

Coronavirus Coronavirus

No power connection would be disconnected till the end of the lockdown period for non-payment of electricity bills in Tamil Nadu, according to the state Electricity Minister P Thangamani.

As per news reports, the minister made the announcement days after the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) had announced consumers to pay their bimonthly bills based on the readings of the previous bimonthly bills since its staff will not be able to visit houses to take the meter readings. The minister also stated that TANGEDCO has been instructed to not disconnect power supply to any consumer, be it a domestic consumer or commercial establishment or an industrial consumer, for non-payment of electricity bills till April 14.

He also stated that once the lockdown ends and normalcy returns, the discom staff would visit houses and take meter readings for billing purposes. Speaking to reporters in Chennai on Sunday, he also expressed his thanks to the workers of the electricity board, who have been working tirelessly to ensure uninterrupted power supply across the state. Stating that around 80% of the staff are turning up to work amid the lockdown, Thangamani said that any faults in the power line are being attended to and repaired immediately to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people.

Since many industries across Tamil Nadu have suspended their operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thangamani said that the state power demand has dropped by around 4500 MW and meanwhile, the domestic power requirements have increased since people stay indoors. He also added that TANGEDCO has incurred losses of around Rs 300 crore in the last few days due to a dip in the demand for electricity across Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu’s number of COVID-19 positive cases touched 50 on Sunday including four recoveries and one death. As on Sunday, the state government has sent 1763 samples for testing of which 1682 have returned negative for the virus. Fifty samples have tested positive and the remaining are under process.