Gurugram: Commercial power tariff worries Raheja Atharva residents

GURUGRAM: Residents of Raheja Atharva are in a fix, with Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) levying commercial rate power charges against the Sector 109 housing society’s temporary electricity connection.

The power discom has sent bills at a rate of 13.30 per unit. The residents say they are bearing the brunt of the developer’s “negligent attitude” in getting a domestic line even seven years after getting the possession.

Anjan Deveshwar, a resident of the society, said, “From July 2014 till May 2019, we paid power charges at Rs 10.13 a unit. After several rounds of our efforts, DHBVN agreed to provide us temporary relief in 2019 and started charging us as per the domestic rate slab of Rs 6.75 per unit. However, neither the developer has provided the mandatory bank guarantee to DHBVN nor set up 33 kV substation infrastructure to date.”

Of 900 flats, around 500 families are currently residing in the society but facing regular disruption in power supply and voltage fluctuation often leading to damage of electrical appliances, due to the temporary connection.

Prem Singh, RWA president of the society, said, “At present, a load of 400 kw has been sanctioned by the discom, which was meant only for the construction period. This load cannot cater to the current requirement of the families living here. We were supposed to have a load of 5,275 kw, however, our interim demand of 1,500 kw was not even met.”

Despite repeated attempts, the developer’s representative could not be contacted.

When contacted, Manoj Yadav, superintending engineer of DHBVN, said, “The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued directions to charge double the energy and fixed charges from those who have taken a temporary connection for a period of more than two years. We have already issued notice to the developer to fulfill all its liability and seek a permanent connection from the discom.”

The discom has even sanctioned the interim load, but Yadav said the developer hasn’t even laid the 11 kV feeder infrastructure.