After several rounds of discussions with officials of the Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PWNL), as many as 78 of 400 high rise residential societies in Gautam Budh Nagar have finally agreed to opt for multipoint electricity connections.
According to the PVVNL officials, following the recent notices by the power distribution company to the housing societies seeking details to commence work on providing multipoint connections, 78 out of nearly 400 high rises have given consent for multipoint connections. The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) last year had decided to do away with the mandatory 51% consent for multipoint connection. Mr. Virendra Nath Singh, Noida divisional chief engineer of PVVNL, said that the list of the societies, which opted for multipoint power connections, has been sent to the discom’s headquarters at Meerut.
“The headquarters will finalize an agency that will first convert the supply and meters of these society multipoint connections. PWNL will provide connection and supply of electricity, registering all the flat owner under the Jhatpat connection scheme,” he said. Mrs Singh further said that as per the existing rule, if a society wants to retain the existing single point connection, they have to give residents’ consent of majority resolution (51%) to PVVNL within 30 days. “In case of no response from the apartment owners’ association (AOA) or builder, it will be considered that the society has given its consent for multipoint connections.
All societies which have already submitted their applications can now avail direct connections for their residents. The recent consent of converting the connections given by 78 high rises will benefit at least 80,000 families,” he said. The chief engineer said that the decision comes after long pending demand of flat owners paying hefty electricity bills in high rise societies. “It is being done in accordance with the 13th amendment in the Electricity Supply Code of UPERC in August 2018, which allowed apartment owners to have direct power connection from the discom,” he said. Residents have expressed their happiness at the discom’s initiative of converting societies lines to multipoint connections. Raghav Kumar, secretary and treasurer of Apartment Owners Association of a highrise in Sector 78, said that all the residents must have their say in electricity bills. “I have always supported multipoint connection. After all, the association is for the welfare of the flat owners,” he said Rakesh Kumar Singh of Grihapravesh society in Sector 77 said that the conversion will be a boon for the residents. “We’ve no option than to follow the whims and fancies of our AOA, which indiscriminately charges electricity bills from our prepaid meters,” he said. On the other hand, the real estate association Credai said that the Government’s decision has no meaning. Mr. Subodh Goel, Secretary, Credai (Western UP), said that over 50,000 homebuyers in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts are still waiting to shift into their ready flats as the projects have not been able to install multipoint meters.
“The projects were completed two years ago when the state electricity board changed the policy for meters from single point to multipoint. The occupancy of flats has not been issued in the absence of electricity. The issue was brought before UPERC, the electricity regulatory commission has yet not addressed this issue,” he said.
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