(FE)
As many as 50.4 lakh BPL households were provided free electricity connections in FY18 under various government schemes, power minister RK Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were the largest beneficiaries on this account, receiving 12.9 lakh, 10.5 lakh and 8.5 lakh such connections, respectively. This is the second largest instance of free BPL power connection dispensed in the last ten years, trailing behind the 58.8 lakh released in FY11. Cumulatively, 3.1 crore BPL households have been provided free power connections till June 2018.
To make sure that the power distribution companies (discoms) do not suffer from under-recovery due to higher supply to low revenue generating BPL consumers, the government plans to shift completely to pre-paid meters. Though the connections to BPL families are free, the Central government would not provide any financial assistance to BPL households for electricity bills.
