Noida, Nov. 16 -- The Uttar Pradesh government plans to generate additional funds by offering rebate to consumers with unpaid electricity bills to clear overdues of more than Rs.450 crore in Noida zone, through the new Bijli Bill Rahat Yojana 2025. The scheme - offering full surcharge waiver and graded rebates on principal dues - was announced on Thursday, following which the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) released a report showing the scale of beneficiaries in Noida, Greater Noida and rural pockets of Gautam Budh Nagar. According to PVVNL, domestic consumers under the LMV-1 category account for the largest share of pending dues. The zone has 69,201 "long unpaid" domestic connections, including 4,424 in urban areas and 64,777 in rural areas, with total arrears amounting to Rs.368.7 crore. In addition, there are 10,089 "never paid" domestic connections - 242 urban and 9,847 rural - collectively owing Rs.81.22 crore. LMV-1 refers to domestic electricity consumers with a connected load of up to 2 kW, while LMV-2 covers small commercial users such as shops and offices with a load of up to 1 kW. Secondly, 1,002 "long-unpaid" LMV-2 connections carrying dues of Rs.3.09 crore, and 94 "never paid" commercial connections together are responsible for Rs.0.39 crore. Discom officials said the rural belt contributes a substantial majority of the due amount. PVVNL Noida chief engineer Sanjay Kumar Jain said the scheme aims to improve revenue recovery and provide relief to households that have been unable to clear dues for years. "We have nearly 80,000 domestic consumers eligible under the scheme. The majority of arrears are from rural areas, and this relief will offer them a practical opportunity to settle long-pending dues," Jain said. While announcing the scheme, urban development minister AK Sharma said: "Those who pay their dues in a single instalment will receive a 100% waiver on surcharge and up to 25% rebate on the principal amount." The relief will be offered in three slabs depending on when the consumer registers: 25% for registrations between December 1 and December 31, 2025; 20% from January 1 to January 31, 2026; and 15% from February 1 to February 28, 2026. For those unable to make a lump-sum payment, the scheme allows for EMIs of Rs.500 or Rs.750, which will be added to the consumer's regular bill. The government has also extended relief to certain electricity-theft assessments arising from technical faults, meter discrepancies or communication errors, subject to payment of either Rs.2,000 or 10% of the assessed amount - whichever is higher. Consumers may register for the scheme through the UPPCL website, local division and subdivision offices, Jan Seva Kendras and departmental cash counters....