Delhiites may soon get money for power cuts

NEW DELHI: Citizens would be compensated for unscheduled power cuts lasting longer than one hour, if a policy approved by the Delhi government on Tuesday gets a green signal from Lt. Governor Anil Baijal. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday approved the policy to provide compensation to users in case of "unscheduled power cuts by the private power distribution companies" and it was later sent to the Lt. Governor for approval. The policy would now need Baijal's approval to come into force. "According to this new policy, in the case of an unscheduled power cut, the DISCOMS (power distribution companies) will have to restore the electricity within one hour, and failure to do so shall result in a penalty of Rs 50 per hour per consumer for the first two hours and Rs 100 per hour per consumer after two hours," an official statement said. The compensation would be provided to consumers in their monthly electricity bills. "The Delhi government is confident that the LG will concur with the policy and endorse this pro-consumer step, which will become a model for other governments across the country to follow," the statement added.