HYDERABAD: Consumers in Telangana were directed to pay their electricity bills online and through other payment options already available to them. The advisory has been issued due to the closure of all counters for payments due to the Coronavirus lockdown.

Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy stated this while addressing the media after a review meeting with the higher officials of power utilities including the Chairman and Managing Director of Transco and Genco D Prabhakar Rao at the TSSPDCL office here on Monday.

“After the lockdown is lifted and new bills are generated the amounts will be adjusted as the Discoms have been doing all these years,” he said. Meanwhile, consumers have already been advised to pay the same amount that reflected in the previous month’s bill as the tariff to be paid in April as meter reading by personnel was cancelled to cut down personal interaction.

In order to see that the cumulative meter reading of the lockdown period won’t alter the telescopic slab system of the domestic consumers, the power distribution companies in Telangana will take the total of 60 days and split the bill to be paid in two halves, once the lockdown is lifted. This will help the consumer to stay in the present slab even though the consumption will be double as there was no meter reading during lockdown.

The Minister however said that there will be no additional demand for Lift irrigation projects due to the extension of irrigation to agriculture sector till April 15. He also ruled out any moratorium for the industrial sector that was forced to shutdown due to the fear of Coronavirus.

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