Power cos may soon be fined for bad service…..Chittaranjan Tembhekar
Mumbai: Power consumers routinely cough up fines for payment delays. But now the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission is proposing to fine power utilities for delays in responding to customer complaints.
If cleared, a slew of servicerelated fines could be slapped on power suppliers by early next year. For example, a consumer could earn Rs 50 if the utility fails to respond to a complaint call in the first three minutes; another Rs 50 if it fails to register the call and issue a complaint number in the next five minutes;and Rs 50 per hour if fuse, overhead-line or transformer faults are not rectified within a stipulated time.
Power utilities may have to perform or pay up….Chittaranjan Tembhekar
Regulator Proposes Consumer-Friendly Norms For State Suppliers
Regulator Proposes Consumer-Friendly Norms For State Suppliers
Mumbai: It is a dream consumers have probably never imagined possible. The power regulator has proposed that utlities supplying power in the state be fined for delays in responding to compaints and other deficiencies in services. So far, consumers had to cough up pay extra, for reasons like late payment of electricity bills. N ow,
the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has proposed consumer-oriented standards of performance (SOP) codes for public utilities supplying power in the state. According to the proposals, a consumer will get Rs 50 (in each case of default) if the power utility fails to respond to his/her complaint call in the first three minutes. The consumer could earn another Rs 50 if the supplier fails to register the call and issue a complaint number in the next five minutes. And the consumer could gain another Rs 100 per week if the power supplier fails to provide a connection within seven days (urban areas) and 10 days (rural areas) and another Rs 100 per week for delays in intimating charges for getting the connection.
the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has proposed consumer-oriented standards of performance (SOP) codes for public utilities supplying power in the state. According to the proposals, a consumer will get Rs 50 (in each case of default) if the power utility fails to respond to his/her complaint call in the first three minutes. The consumer could earn another Rs 50 if the supplier fails to register the call and issue a complaint number in the next five minutes. And the consumer could gain another Rs 100 per week if the power supplier fails to provide a connection within seven days (urban areas) and 10 days (rural areas) and another Rs 100 per week for delays in intimating charges for getting the connection.
The consumer will be compensated with Rs 100 per day for any delay in giving a temporary connection. Similarly the consumer will get Rs 50 per hour if the fault in fuse, overhead line or transformer is not rectified within specified hours.
If the proposals are cleared, they could be in force by the end of this year or beginning of next year. Power utilities in the state include Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, Tata Power Company, Reliance Infrastructure, and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd.
MERC has invited objections from both power utilities and consumers over the proposals and after hearings with stakeholders, the amended draft will be finalised for implementation.
Besides penalising for utilities for not attending billing complaints, the SOP suggests compensations of Rs 100 and Rs 200 per month in rural and urban areas respectively if the meter reading is delayed. It proposes utilities should read bills in rural areas once in three months and once in two months in urban areas.
The SOP prescribes four hours in urban areas to repair the fuse or pay a Rs 50 per hour fine. In rural areas the period for fuse restoration will be 24 hours. For overhead breakdown 6 hours will be given in urban areas and 24 hours in rural areas. Similarly, distribution transformers will have to be restored in 24 hours in urban areas and 48 hours in rural areas. For underground cable fault only 12 hours will be given or a Rs 50 per hour fine paid to the consumer. Scheduled outage (load-shedding) should not exceed 12 hours for which there is no compensation.
The SOP says utilities will have to attain at least 99% of total fuse-off complaints and rectify them or face stern action from the MERC. Suppliers will also have to attain at least 95% of total line breakdowns or transformer failures within the prescribed time limits, besides maintaining supply frequency and voltage imbalance to achieve better reliability and certification. Suppliers will not be able to exceed 0.1% billing mistakes and 3% faults in meters and will have to perform 90 to 95% of duties like addition to supply, ownership transfer, reconnections and metershifting well in time.
MERC has invited objections from the stakeholders before September 18.
Consumer Is King
– First response to call
Response Time: 3 minutes
Compensation: Rs 50
Response Time: 3 minutes
Compensation: Rs 50
– Issuing complaint number
Response Time: 5 minutes
Compensation: Rs 50
Response Time: 5 minutes
Compensation: Rs 50
– Restoration of supply in case of burnt meter
Response Time: 24 hrs (urban), 48 hrs (rural)
Compensation: Rs 100 per week or part thereof
Response Time: 24 hrs (urban), 48 hrs (rural)
Compensation: Rs 100 per week or part thereof
– Reconnection of consumer
Response Time: 24 hrs (urban); 2 days (rural)
Compensation: Rs 100 per week
Response Time: 24 hrs (urban); 2 days (rural)
Compensation: Rs 100 per week
– Reading consumers’ meters
Response Time: Once every 3 months (rural), once every 2 months (urban)
Compensation: Rs 100 for first month, Rs 200 after that
Response Time: Once every 3 months (rural), once every 2 months (urban)
Compensation: Rs 100 for first month, Rs 200 after that