Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Mar 18: The Karnataka government's Gruha Jyothi scheme, one of the Congress administration's flagship 'five guarantees’, has introduced new conditions, limiting benefits for new electricity consumers. Previously, all household consumers enjoyed up to 200 units of free electricity per month. However, the new rules restrict this benefit for those who have recently built homes or moved to new rental houses.

The Gruha Jyothi scheme, launched on July 1, 2023, under chief minister Siddaramaiah's leadership, was based on the average electricity consumption of the 2022–23 financial year. Since August 1, the scheme has been providing benefits to eligible consumers. However, new electricity consumers have been left out of the full benefit.

As of July 2024, the scheme completed its first year. Initially, energy minister K J George had announced that the average electricity usage would be revised annually. Despite this promise, no revision has been made yet, leaving new consumers without a consumption history at a disadvantage.

Without a historical usage record, new consumers are only eligible for a maximum of 58 units of free electricity per month, which includes an allowance of 53 units plus an additional 10 percent. If these consumers exceed 58 units, they must pay for the extra units, even if their total usage is within the 200-unit cap of the scheme.

At the scheme's inception, the government established rules to determine the average unit consumption annually based on the previous fiscal year's usage. This condition was intended to apply to new connections as well. However, the lack of a revised average usage benchmark has resulted in new homeowners receiving only 58 units of free electricity, even if their actual usage falls within the 200-unit limit.

For tenants, the government had introduced a 'de-link' system, allowing them to continue with the previous average usage of the rental property. This ensured that tenants received the full benefit of the scheme, unlike new homeowners.

Revising the average consumption rates could lead to an additional financial burden of Rs 500 to Rs 600 crore for the government. Sources indicate that there are currently no plans to revise the average consumption benchmarks, and the matter has not been discussed further.