Draft To Curb Power Companies, Customers Will Get Compensation

Draft to curb power companies, customers will get compensation. The Ministry of Power has drafted rules for the first time to protect the interests of consumers. According to the statement released by the Ministry of Power on Wednesday, provisions have been made for providing reliable service to customers, making it easy to get electricity connection, compensation for delay in service from distribution companies, and 24-hour call center for redressal of complaints.

Suggestions have been sought on this draft from the concerned parties by 30 September. The Ministry of Power said that taking the historic step in the interest of consumers, the draft Electricity (Consumers’ Rights) Rules, 2020 has been released.

The objective of this initiative is to provide better services and facilities to the customers. According to the ministry, consumers are the most important aspect in the power sector and the survival of this sector depends on them. In such a situation, it is very important to provide electricity to all citizens and focus on customer satisfaction.

In order to have a smooth resolution of consumer complaints, the draft rule proposes to set up a grievance redressal platform at various levels from the sub-division. The provision of compensation or penalty for delay in service by power distribution companies is also a very important part of this draft.

That is, if the distribution companies delay in fixing the power or resolving the problem, then they have to pay compensation to the customer concerned. The draft rules provide for 24-hour toll-free call centers, web-based support, and mobile applications for services such as power supply interruption, new connections, capacity addition.

SMS and e-mail alert facility, online status tracking, and automated processing have been proposed for all these.
These heads in the draft rules. The draft rule simplifies the process by setting time for new connections. It proposes to charge only two documents for power connections up to 10 kW and no anticipated demand charges for loads up to 150 kW to speed up the connection.

The time period for providing the connection has also been set in it. The time period for granting new connections and modifying the existing connection shall not exceed seven days in metro cities, 15 in other municipal areas, and 30 days in rural areas. Customers will be able to pay via cash, check, debit card, or net banking. But the payment of Rs 1,000 or more will be done through online mode only.