Following the controversy over demand for hefty charges for installation of multipoint power connections in the high rises, the process for conversion went into backburner. Now, to expedite the process, a meeting was called by Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) to take suggestions from the residents for future course of action.
The representatives of the residents suggested many ideas which can pave way for successful installation of multipoint power connections.
In the meeting, which held on Thursday at UPPCL office in Ghaziabad, residents demanded that security deposit paid by them during the power connection needs to be refunded or adjusted in other expenses.
However, sources told City Spidey that UPERC has already accepted residents’ demand and have accepted to refund the security deposit. As per information, they would either refund or adjust the security deposit amount. Residents believe that it would ease the burden on them.
“Since beginning, we are demanding that amount which we have paid as security deposit for power connection should either be refunded to residents or adjusted for new infrastructure. I was informed that this issue has been taken up by the UPERC,” said Vikash Kumar, who represented residents in the meeting.
Now, the residents have also put forward other demands which could solve the problem. They asked that there should be an audit of the builder’s finances in dealing with the electricity department every six months. They suggested that any surplus money that the builder is having should be utilised on creating infrastructure for the installation of multipoint power connections.
To rule out the chances for arbitrary demand of money by the builder in the high rises, the representatives advocated for the independent agencies for creating infrastructure as it would bring in more transparency. They said that the estimate for conversion should be taken from the independent agencies.
“We have been raising this issue for a long time and several letters were written to UP government including Chief Minister and Power Minister to have their attention on this issue. Finally, they have sought our suggestions on how this multipoint power connections policy can be implemented with minimum expenses. We are hopeful that the government will take our suggestion seriously and provide some relief for the consumers by implementing the delayed policy as soon as possible,” Kumar added.
Citing the sudden burden of installation charges for meters, the representatives suggested that the money should be taken in instalments. This way, the residents will be comfortable paying the amount.
Earlier, unhappy over the lacunae in the policy regarding the conversion of single point power connections to multipoint connections, the Noida Extension Flat Owners Association (NEFOWA) had written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
NEFOWA has been fighting for multipoint connections in the last year as builders used to charge hefty amounts for the supply of electricity to the individual flats. But, they were miffed with the way builders were implementing this. The builders were asking for an exorbitant amount for creating infrastructure for the conversion.
They were worried that the flat owners would not get free from the clutches of the builders as setting up of infrastructure and the maintenance would still be in hands of builders. They reasoned that the whole idea of getting independent connections was a flawed proposition.
For instance, the builder of Gaur City had issued letters to the residents for seeking their consent for multipoint connection and also indicated that the flat owners will be required to pay approximately Rs 60,000 for the multipoint connection system.
Talking to City Spidey, Chief Engineer (Ghaziabad) PVVNL said, “Meeting was called on the directions of the UP government to take suggestions from the residents and other representatives. We have noted down all the suggestions given in the meeting and same will be forwarded to UPERC.”
