Chhattisgarh Discom Disconnects Power to 747 Government Offices Over Rs 12.83 Crore Dues

The state power distribution company (Discom) in Chhattisgarh has launched a major drive against outstanding electricity dues and non-compliance with smart prepaid metering requirements, disconnecting power connections of government departments with unpaid bills.

The Discom disconnected electricity supplies to 747 government offices across several districts within a week over unpaid dues and metering-related non-compliance. The action prompted several government offices to take immediate steps to settle their outstanding electricity bills.

Following the disconnections, 417 of the affected offices cleared their pending dues, enabling the power utility to recover ₹4.43 crore. The 747 disconnected connections had accumulated total outstanding dues of ₹12.83 crore, with some government offices reportedly remaining unpaid for several months and, in certain cases, more than a year.

Across the state, government departments have accumulated pending electricity bills exceeding Rs 3,000 crore, with several agencies defaulting on payments for over two years, officials said.

The Urban Administration and Development Department tops the list of defaulters with unpaid bills exceeding Rs 1,200 crore. Other major defaulters owing crores of rupees include the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Public Health Engineering (PHE), School Education, Forest, Health, and Scheduled Caste Welfare departments.

The enforcement drive also stems from administrative compulsion under the Central Government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). Under this scheme, the next installment of central funds remains frozen until state government offices systematically clear their overdue power bills.

Departments have showed little interest in switching to the required prepaid format, even though 80% of government connections have been modernized with smart meters. Only Rs 1.5 crore in prepayments have been received thus far, despite the discom’s announcement that government smart meters would transition to prepaid mode on August 1. Departments have routinely disregarded reminders, leading the discom management to use broad disconnections despite the possibility to pay arrears in installments along with prepaid recharges.