Power bill due date breather ... The breather covers 1.98 crore power consumers

Sambit Saha, TT, 1.04.20, Calcutta: The state-run power utility, the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL), has extended the last date for payment of electricity bills to April 30 in view of the virus outbreak.

The breather covers 1.98 crore power consumers who include residents of Salt Lake and New Town.

CESC, which covers Calcutta and some of its surrounding areas, has extended till April 4 the last date for those whose due date of payment fell between March 22 and 31.

Power utilities usually have different due dates of payment for different consumers. Under normal circumstances, the current due dates for consumers of the WBSEDCL would have been up to April 14. For some consumers, it would have been as early as April 3.

The extension till April 30 means some consumers of the state-run utility gain a breather of at least 16 days and others nearly a month.

The window till April 30 will benefit all domestic consumers and small and medium industries that are WBSEDCL customers. Industrial users who draw electricity through high-tension lines have not been included in the relaxation.