Bengaluru: The gates of the city’s large apartment complexes and gated communities are proving harder for Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) officials to cross than expected, with several residential communities denying entry to verification teams and emerging as a major hurdle in the Gruha Jyothi beneficiary verification drive.The problem is particularly acute in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Area Zone (BMAZ), especially eastern Bengaluru, where a large number of consumers live in apartments and gated communities. With just two days left for the two-month verification deadline, Bescom has verified around 66% of its 68.9 lakh Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries, leaving a substantial number yet to be covered.The difficulty in Bengaluru is part of a larger challenge faced by all five electricity supply companies (Escoms) as they race to complete verification under the Gruha Jyothi scheme. Collectively, Escoms have verified around 1.2 crore, or 71%, of the nearly 1.7 crore beneficiaries across Karnataka. With just two days left, the utilities are awaiting govt nod to extend the exercise by another month to ensure complete verification.Among the five Escoms, Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) has recorded the highest progress at 90%, followed by Hubballi Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) at 79%, Bescom at 66%, Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) at 64%, and Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (Gescom) at 54%, according to energy department data.A senior energy official said the verification process slowed in Aug because meter readers had to juggle the exercise with their regular responsibility of generating monthly electricity bills. “During July, it was easier as meter readers had to do only verification and did not have to worry about monthly bills, as average bills were generated. But in Aug, they had to do both. Further, the non-availability of working professionals during verification time also posed a challenge,” the official said.Officials said several gated communities remain out of reach, making it difficult for verification teams to reach individual households. Door-locked homes and consumers working in other cities or abroad have also contributed to the backlog. Officials estimate that around 20% of consumers yet to be covered fall into categories such as door-locked households, apartment communities, and consumers away from home.Bescom has introduced a mechanism to deal with locked households. Managing director N Shiva Shankara said, “Our mobile app allows staff to mark a household as ‘door-locked’ after three unsuccessful visits. An SMS is then sent to the consumer asking them to contact divisional engineers or other officials. With mutual coordination and pre-decided timings, our staffers go to their households and complete the process.”
