Bareilly: In a bid to make consumers pay their pending bills, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has decided to maintain a ‘name and shame’ list of defaulters. Officials at the power department said a list is being prepared and the department will soon be publishing the names of the defaulters along with their address in newspapers. Besides, banners to the effect will put up at sub stations.Speaking with TOI, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) executive engineer PA Moga said, “We feel this is an effective measure to recover dues from defaulters by making them feel ashamed for not paying their bills. We have been receiving complaints that the department does not take action against defaulters and collect old dues. However, it is necessary for people to know that if one consumes electricity, one must also pay the bill on time. We are still identifying such consumers who have failed to clear their dues,” he added.Officials said the list will be ready anytime soon and the department will be publishing the defaulters’ names along with their address under the ‘name and shame’ list.According to information from the power department, there are 1, 80,000 consumers under Bareilly region who have been given power connections. The department has estimated that defaulters — both residential and commercial —owe over Rs 100 crore to the department.“Several warnings have been issued to the defaulters regarding payment of their bills, yet many of them do not turn up on time while others fail to clear their dues,” said chief zonal engineer RK Agarwal. Initially, when a defaulter is identified and a notice as reminder is served on him to clear his pending bills at the earliest. If the consumer does not pay, another notice is served and his power connection is disconnected. If the defaulter still fails to pay up, a recovery certificate (RC) is issued and the process of attachment of property is initiated,” added Agarwal.

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