2nd Technical Sessi
Presentation by Purabi Das, PAO, OERC

This Session was chaired by Sri K C Badu, Member, OERC. The summary of this Presentation is given as under:

What the Electricity Act, 2003 says

 The Electricity Act, 2003 has wide ranging provisions to protect the interest of consumers
 Definition of consumer Sec 2 (15) :
 any person supplied with electricity for his use by a licensee
 any person whose premises is connected for receiving electricity with the works of a licensee
 Right of Non-discrimination
 Section 45 (4) says all consumers to be treated equally
No discrimination or undue preference
 New applicant – Section 43 states that supply must be granted within one month
 Standards of Performance - Section 57 mandates for provision of specified performance standards for utilities & compensation for failure to meet them
 Section 61 – Stipulates that consumer interest be protected while determining tariff
 Section 86 (3) – mandates transparency in discharge of functions
 Section 87 - SAC the common platform to voice consumer issues Section 94(3) – Stipulates engagement of consumer counsel in the proceeding of the Commission to protect consumer interest
 Section 111 – Any person aggrieved by order of the Commission/Adjudicating Officer can approach Apellate Tribunal for Electricity
 Section 142/146 – Violation of Commission orders by any person in any form is liable for penalty
 Section 143 - Any Member can be delegated for Adjudication
 District Committees to look after consumer issues

Grievance Redressal
 Section 42 (5),(6) - Mandates establishment of Grievance Redressal Forum & Ombudsman
 Condition 9 of License conditions mandates approval & Implementation of the following Consumer service documents by licensees
Consumer Rights Statement – A statement explaining their rights to the consumers
 Complaint Handling Procedure – A procedure for handling of consumer complaints by utilities
Code of Practice on Payment of Bills – A set of guidelines for payment of bills by consumers
 Complaint handling procedure of licensee
 All types of service deficiency covered
Time bound disposal
 Step by step redressal from lowest to highest level
 Differential standards for urban & rural areas
 Inbuilt compensation

What has been done?
 Inspections of GRF done by Commission officers annually
 GRF & Ombudsman established (12 GRFs & 4 Ombudsmen)
 Proceedings conducted by Commission to penalise the Distribution licensees’ for non-compliance of GRF/Ombudsman orders
 SAC reconstituted. Frequent Meetings are held for constructive advice
State Co-ordination Forum formed
 District Committees formed
 Standards of Performance Regulations issued
 Performance Standards published annually
 Consumer awareness campaigns conducted through Radio/TV/Press
 Training & workshops held for Presidents/ Members of GRF/Ombudsman
 Training workshop has been imparted to officers/field level staffs of Distcoms
 Gramsat used to sensitise senior government functionaries on state power sector issues
 Compilation of Regulations published in English and Oriya
 FAQ published and distributed
 Consumer counsel engaged for analyses and presentation of Tariff applications

Road Ahead
 Distcoms to self regulate in maintenance of standards
 Automatic compensation to be dispensed for violation of standards
 Empowerment of GRFs/Ombudsmen for their effective functioning
 Massive consumer awareness programmes through Print/Audio-Visual media
 Engagement of consumer counsel in Tariff/PPA/License Proceedings
 Follow up on training of field staffs of Distcoms & consumer organisations
 Frequent consumer interface & networking with consumer right groups
 Case tracking through interactive website