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The Goa electricity department has sought the assistance of the tourism department to identify consumers with domestic connections who run homestays or sublet their property to tourists.
The department is starting to bill such consumers on commercial basis instead of domestic, after it found some of them, especially along the coastal belt, engaged in commercial activities.
“Identifying such connections and obtaining credible evidence of the owners’ activities is a real challenging task, particularly in the coastal belt,” the department submitted to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), which regulates the power sector in the state.
In the new policy, unlike the previous one, there is no longer a requirement to submit Demand Draft as a security deposit at the time of submitting the application. Instead, this deposit is only necessary after the draw of lots and solely from successful allottees, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said.
It is seeking support from the tourism department to identify cases where such premises are registered with it for carrying out commercial activities.
“The department is in the process of collectively resolving these issues of such kind of illegal misuse of domestic category. As per information provided by the tourism department, the electricity department has started billing such consumers on commercial basis instead of domestic,” the department added.
The commission directed the electricity department to identify such consumers and take appropriate action as per provisions of the JERC Supply Code.
A consumer at a recent public hearing held by the commission, pointed out that Goa, with a population of 16 lakh, has an annual footfall of 90 lakh tourists, and several illegal homestays are operating. These, he said, tap into the domestic supply and pay lower charges instead of commercial charges.
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