UP discoms’ losses mount as Saubhagya consumers don’t pay bills

The Centre’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) scheme is turning out to be an overload on the finances of Uttar Pradesh’s loss-making power distribution companies (discoms).

Under the scheme, launched in October 2017 with an aim to provide last-mile power connection to all un-electrified rural households and poor households in urban areas, electricity connection has been given to nearly 80,000 houses in the last three years. However, nearly 82.27% of over 2 crore rural consumers have not paid power bills even once since April this year.