Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa Electricity Department (GED) is preparing to issue a fresh public notice granting consumers additional time to relocate their electricity meters to outdoor, easily accessible locations for meter reading.
Earlier, the department had warned that power supply would be disconnected if consumers failed to move indoor meters. However, the state government has now decided to defer such stringent action and allow more time for compliance.
A senior GED official confirmed that a revised deadline would be announced soon. “A new public notice is likely to be issued shortly with details of the extended timeline,” the official said.
When the earlier deadline expired in November last year, nearly 65 per cent of the approximately 38,000 consumers identified with indoor or inaccessible meters had not complied with the directive. In the aftermath, senior department officials had considered initiating disconnection proceedings against defaulters. Sources, however, said the government intervened and instructed the department to put the move on hold.
The exercise to shift electricity meters outside began in May last year, with consumers being given a six-month period to comply, ending on November 28. During this time, Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes had issued multiple public notices cautioning that failure to relocate meters could result in penal action, including disconnection of electricity supply under provisions of the Electricity Act.
