Tourism department requested to share data on registered homestays and subletting properties with power department

The department asked the JERC and the tourism department to help prove the owners' illegal actions in the coastal sector.

The Goa electricity department has requested the tourism department to help them find out which customers with domestic connections are running homestays or renting out their property to tourists.

The department has decided to charge such customers on commercial basis instead of domestic, after discovering that some of them, especially in the coastal areas, were involved in commercial activities.

“The department faces a lot of difficulty in identifying such connections and gathering reliable evidence of the owners’ activities, especially in the coastal areas,” the department reported to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), which oversees the power sector in the state.
It is asking for the tourism department’s assistance to find out which properties are registered with it for conducting commercial activities.

The department said it is working together to address these cases of unlawful use of domestic category. According to the tourism department's data, the electricity department has begun charging such consumers at commercial rates instead of domestic ones, the department stated.

The commission instructed the electricity department to identify such consumers and take action as per the JERC Supply Code provisions.

One of the commission's public hearing attendees highlighted the issue of illegal homestays in Goa, which has a population of 16 lakh and receives 90 lakh tourists every year. He said that these homestays use the domestic supply of electricity and pay lower rates than the commercial ones, which is unfair and unsustainable.