Electricity Bill: The consumers’ Additional Security Deposit (ASD) will be reimbursed monthly in installments. This was formerly paid in full within a year. The annual electricity consumption of the customer is used to calculate this security deposit. whereby, starting with the April bill, the Energy Corporation has begun to collect in installments. Nonetheless, regular customers are still unclear about this.
Increased Power Costs Spark Consumer and Political Backlash
The cost of power in Uttarakhand increased by 6.92 percent as of this month. about which opposition political parties and consumers are consistently objecting. In the meantime, customers’ unease has grown as a result of the extra security deposit added to their April bills. Actually, ASD was previously only gathered annually.
The Energy Corporation also sent notices to the people who failed to pay the security deposit. The Energy Corporation had to work very hard to collect the enormous amount because the average user was unable to make the lump sum payment at the end of the fiscal year due to the large amount. As of the commencement of the 2024–2025 fiscal year, a system for recovering the security deposit in installments has been put in place. It is going to be added each month to the bill.
Security Deposit Determined by Electricity Usage
Executive Engineer for the Central Zone Gaurav Saklani stated that the security deposit is determined by the consumer’s electricity usage. A security deposit of some money has already been made with the Energy Corporation in case the customer fails to pay the electricity bill.
Customers receive a full return of the security amount upon connection closure. It is paid with interest as well. Bills that are less than the security deposit that has already been deposited are lowered by adding the difference to the deposit. Both the customer and the energy company are unaware of the connection’s annual electricity use when they take up a new connection. The security deposit paid at the moment the connection is established is typical in such circumstances.
Additional Security Deposit for Exceeding Usage
The consumer’s additional security deposit is required if their electricity use exceeds the security deposit. The bill is delivered to customers whose electricity consumption is less than the security deposit following that reduction.
While the preparation and delivery of electricity bills to customers takes two to seven days, the bill cycle is thirty days. Customers have between seven and fifteen days to settle the invoice. In that case, the customer would have used electricity for forty-five days by then. ASD is billed extra for excessive electricity use in this scenario.