Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar informed the state assembly about the arrears owed to the electricity department by consumers across different categories. Goa Electricity Department is reeling under massive arrears due to its own faulty mechanisms. The payments from consumers is not being received on time by the Electricity Department and the backlog of such bills is now to the tune of Rs 572 crore. GED need to adopt a combination of robust institutional mechanisms, incentives, and context-specific solutions to bridge their billing and revenue gaps. Regular billing is imperative to ensure timely payments by consumers. Low deterrence due to irregular disconnection drives also emerged as another reason for non-payment. Routine follow-ups with the ground staff and the involvement of other stakeholders would also help the GED achieve higher billing efficiency. Ultimately, it is the consumers who pay the price for the mismanagement in the form of load sheddings, supply curtailment, poor quality of supply and consumer services. We citizens take everything for granted and then cry for more facilities without paying bills or taxes but want world class facilities.
