PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant late on Friday night announced that penalties on consumers for exceeding sanctioned electricity load will be put on hold. He also ordered suspension of the rollout of smart meters until a comprehensive review of the project is completed.
The move comes after days of protests and mounting complaints over inflated bills.
Sawant said, consumers need not pay the disputed bills and both issues will be examined in detail before any further implementation.
"Those who have received inflated bills or penalties should approach their respective AE or EE offices for re-checking," Sawant said and advised consumers not to pay the disputed bills until verification.
Earlier on Friday morning, PWD Minister Digambar Kamat had led a group of citizens to the Electricity Department in Margao where he described the levy of penalties as unjustified and assured to take up the matter with the chief minister.
Sawant, however, initially avoided comment. At a media conclave marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s completion of 12 consecutive years in office, he declined to address the controversy.
“This is about Modiji’s milestone. Other issues will be discussed and addressed separately,” he told reporters who raised Kamat's objection to the penalties in electricity billing.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal also weighed in, posting on X that Goa’s electricity rates were among the highest in the country.
“People are very agitated. Even a BJP minister himself acknowledges that. We demand that, like Delhi and Punjab, domestic electricity up to 300 units per household should be made free in Goa also,” Kejriwal wrote.
The controversy over inflated bills has been building for weeks. Residents across constituencies had been complaining of sudden spikes in charges, with Electricity department officials attributing it to penalties for exceeding sanctioned load.
On Thursday, Anjuna residents had staged symbolic protests, serving rice gruel in a “pej andolan” to highlight the issue.
Opposition parties including the Congress and the AAP seized on the issue, accusing the government of insensitivity and mismanagement.
Concerns were also mounting over the simultaneous rollout of smart meters, with consumer groups alleging that the devices were being introduced without adequate consultation, raising fears of further billing shocks and lack of transparency.
Meanwhile, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) also demanded that penal charges be deferred and the transition to KVAH billing slowed down.
In a representation, GCCI said domestic consumers were facing hardship as penalties were levied for exceeding sanctioned load, often without awareness of technical requirements.
It requested a six month window to regularise additional load without fines. The Chamber also flagged steep hikes from the shift to KVAH billing linked to Power Factor, noting inadequate consumer awareness. It sought deferment of strict implementation by six months and a public education campaign.
