Getting a new electricity connection for a building is all set to become easier. Those who apply for new electricity connection for domestic construction will get a temporary line at a specified rate and this will be converted into a permanent one, at domestic tariff, when the construction activity is completed.
This is explained in the draft notification issued recently by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC). According to the notification, if a temporary supply is to be converted into permanent supply, as in the case of construction of a building, the normal procedure to provide supply to regular categories of customers will be followed.
The consumer will be charged under temporary supply tariff. The applicant will have to give an undertaking that the temporary supply will be converted into permanent one after completion of the construction. The additional service line cost for such conversion and other statutory charges will be collected during the conversion.
In the case of supply for temporary purpose, such as exhibitions and meetings, the service line charges include extension and improvement charges. However, security deposit equivalent to the current consumption charges for three billing cycles will be collected and maintained during the temporary supply period. It will be reviewed during every billing cycle and ensured that it is maintained at the specified level till the closing of the temporary supply account.
Details of the notification are available on the website of the commission (tnerc.tn.nic.in).
An official of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) here says that till the third week of June, for an applicant who wanted to construct a building, permanent power supply was provided at commercial tariff for domestic construction and it was converted to permanent power supply at domestic tariff after the construction. The new norms will come into effect when the notification is finalised and implemented.
K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, says that according to the notification the cost for the public infrastructure that should be created in a locality for the temporary connection will be by the Tangedco.
The earlier system was modified in the tariff order issued last month. However, the order implied that consumers will have to pay more for a temporary connection. The recent notification is an amendment so that consumers are able to get a temporary connection sooner and at lower cost. Further, providing temporary connection for construction and temporary activities has been differentiated by the commission, he says.
