Thousands of power consumers are literally undergoing sleepless nights across Salcete countryside. Their plight has nothing to do with the erratic power supply and interruptions which are common in the towns and villages. But, they are scary that they will finally end up in receiving hefty power bills for no fault of theirs with the department playing truant in despatching power bills of the last four months – a period spanning from June to October.
And, with no sign of the power bills reaching their door steps in the immediate future, they fear that they might finally receive bills for a six-month period or more as Herald inquiries have only revealed that the department is literally struggling to print the bills as the private players engaged for the job of printing the bills have either quit or have wound up their operations following termination of their contracts.
What has triggered fears amongst the power consumers is that the department will raise hefty bills at the end of the day for no fault of theirs. Says Raia-based activist Xavier Fernandes: “As it is, the common man has been facing hard time to clear their monthly bills. With the bills now pending for four months and more, you can very well imagine the plight of the power consumers when it comes to make payment. The department has not assured the consumers of any payment facility till date”.
Power officials in the know attributed the huge delay in despatching the bills to the termination of contracts entered into with private players around June.
In fact, the 45,000 power consumers from Margao and Fatorda may get their bills late since the previous agency engaged in the printing of power bills have not handed over the database to the electricity department.
“We are helpless in the absence of the database, though the department has appointed a new agency to prepare the bills,” informed a senior Power officials based at the Power House, Aquem.
The situation of powers consumers as far as the villages of Raia, Loutolim, Curtorim, Chandor, Guridolim is even worse compared to their counterparts from Margao or Fatorda.
As far as consumers from these villages are concerned, the department had outsourced the entire process to a private party – right from meter reading to printing of bills and despatch of the bill – which has stopped its operation since June.
A senior power official said the department has shortlisted another agency to carry on the job, but it will take some time before actual work starts from the ground.
As far as Margao, Fatorda and other villages are concerned, officials blamed the previous agency for not handing over the database to the department.
“Though the agency has stopped printing the bills, the department is yet to receive the data base. In the absence of the data base, the department is handicapped to issue the bills on time”, remarked another engineer.
Power consumers, however, felt that there cannot be any justification for the electricity department to despatch the bills after four or six months.
Questions are being raised whether the power department would come out with any instalment facility for the beleaguered consumers to facilitate the payment.
