Udaipur, December 6, 2024 - The Electricity board has released an amended Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding domestic connection application in urban areas. Now, the service line will be issued within 24 hours of application. In rural areas, it will be issued within seven days.

Amendments in the SOP include:

• Advance application fee which was charged previously will no longer be collected.
• Application process for the connection will be completely online. No applicant can be compelled to apply offline. However, if any consumer chooses to apply offline, the connection process must still be completed on the same day.
• Staff has to check the application and all submitted documents the same day the online application is sent online. The final Demand Notice for approval will then be sent to the AEN (Assistant Engineer). Applications will not be stopped owing to minor deficiencies.

• If deficiencies are found then the applicant has to be informed. In case of a major deficiency, the applicant must be notified on the same day to make necessary corrections. The process will be considered valid from the day the consumer is notified.
• The JEN (Junior Engineer) will visit the site for verification and to estimate the cost. After preparing the estimate, they will submit the file with comments. The process will be done the same day in large cities, two days in medium-sized urban areas and five days in rural areas.
• Upon receiving the estimate, the staff will review and prepare the final Demand Notice. It will be sent to the AEN for approval the same day. If deficiencies are identified in the comments by the JEN, the notice will still be issued to the consumer on the same day.
• Details of the notices will also be recorded in the new connection module. After submitting the Demand Notice, the staff will prepare the SCO-SJO (Service Connection Order - Service Junction Order) and send it to the AEN for approval the same day.
• In metro cities and Class-1 cities, the SCO compliance will be carried out by the JEN on the same day. In urban areas, it will be done within two days,and in rural areas within five days.

The need was felt by the electricity board to make changes to the existing system in order to streamline the process. As of now, domestic connections, especially in the domestic category, are reportedly not being issued on time. Sometimes, applications are held up due to minor deficiencies in the application forms or documents, leading to delays by the staff.

Source: Media Reports