PANAJI
Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes on Wednesday announced that around Rs 43 crore collected as penalties for sanctioned load violations over the past six months will be credited back to consumers in future bills.
Fernandes, said officials had been working on the modalities since Chief Minister Pramod Sawant declared the discontinuation of the penalty policy last week. The file has now been cleared by Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar.
A formal circular detailing the discontinuation, re‑crediting of fines, and automatic upgrade of sanctioned load based on actual consumption is expected on June 25.
He was speaking to the media after a protest led by former Congress State president, Amit Patkar, demanding scrapping of the smart meter project and a notification scrapping the levy of penalties for load violations.
Fernandes, however, was non‑committal on the fate of the smart meter project. He said rollout has been halted after public outcry but claimed 80 per cent of installations in Panaji are complete, with the rest covering feeders, department connections, and new consumers.
He insisted higher electricity bills were unrelated to smart meters, a claim likely to remain contested as the debate over billing and metering continues.
Meanwhile, Patkar led a protest outside the Electricity Department demanding scrapping of the smart meter project and waiver of penalties for excess load consumption.
Patkar said the government was misleading people with conflicting figures on installations.
“The Chief Minister, Power Minister, and Chief Engineer are all quoting different numbers. This shows irregularities. We demand complete cancellation of the project and a notification waiving penalties,” he declared.
The Patkar-led protest, however, was symptomatic of the internal strife within the Opposition Congress with the official set-up under the new president Girish Chodankar, staying away. Aldona MLA, Carlos Alvares, who is 'working president' in the new Chodankar-led GPCC did make an appearance but left midway.
On his way out Alvares Ferreira said: “People don’t want smart meters. Forcing them is wrong. The government must cancel the project outright.”
Patkar and the other protesters, including suspended Congress leader Manisha Usgaonkar, staged a sit‑in at the department’s main gate for nearly three hours after police denied them entry and raised slogans against the BJP government, accusing it of authoritarianism.
The Electricity department had begun levying penalties for excess load since November last and following Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s announcement of waiver about two weeks ago, the process for cancellation and revising the billing was being carried out.
Fernandes said the file had been cleared by Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar and was now with the Chief Minister’s Office after which the circular will be formally issued by the government.
GHRC defers smart meter hearing to July 15
PANAJI: The Goa Human Rights Commission on Wednesday deferred its hearing on the smart meter project to July 15 after Amicus Curiae Adv Abhijit Gosavi sought two weeks to examine citizen representations.
Petitioners raised concerns over the rollout and demanded continuation of the existing consumption‑based billing system. They argued smart meters would burden households and infringe on consumer rights.
The Electricity Department has maintained that smart metering is a Central Government mandate and cannot be scrapped at the State level.
In its submission, the department has noted that several States have already begun implementation and pointed out that a related petition is pending before the Nagpur Bench of the High Court.
The department also submitted a letter from Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant which highlighted prepaid smart metering as a key reform under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme aimed at improving efficiency and reducing losses.
