People will be entitled for compensation if they face prolonged power cuts in Chhattisgarh, the State electricity regulator said on June 5.
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The Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC) had enacted new rules in a bid to ensure interruption-free power supply to consumers and for the first time included the provision of giving compensation against extended outages, it said in a statement.
Chhattisgarh has become the first State to implement a compensation-for-power-cut policy, an official said.
Under the Electricity Act, 2003, a target was set for ensuring supply of quality and uninterrupted power to consumers. “Accordingly, the CSERC was given the responsibility to fix quality parameters of power supply,” said S.P. Shukla, Secretary of CSERC, in the release.
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“The CSERC had enacted rules for the same in 2006, but neither were standard parameters for supply of uninterrupted power to consumers stipulated nor was a provision for compensation to consumers against non- compliance of the rules made,” he said.
Keeping this in view, the CSERC notified CSERC (Standards of Performance in Distribution of Electricity) Regulation - 2020 in May, under which it fixed maximum time limit for monthly outages as well as for each interruption in supply of electricity by power companies, Mr. Shukla said.
Provision of providing monetary compensation to consumers in case power distribution companies violate these parameters has also been made, the statement said.
As per the parameters, in a city having a population of 10 lakh or more, if power supply remains disrupted for a total 10 hours or more during a month from April to June, the distribution company will have to pay compensation to consumers.
For other urban and rural areas, the time-limit has been set at 20 hours or more per month during this period, he said.
Similarly, from July till March, if power outage exceeds 6 hours or more in a month, in a city having a population of 10 lakh or more, 15 hours for other urban areas and 20 hours for rural areas, then consumers will be entitled for compensation from the distribution company, he said.
For restoring power supply, maximum time limit of four hours has been set for urban areas, while the same is 24 hours in rural areas after power cut each time, Mr. Shukla said.
The power distribution company will have to pay compensation at the rate of ₹5 per hour in case it fails to comply with the parameters, he said.
Similarly, the time limit of six hours (urban areas) and 12 hours (rural areas) for restoring general line fault, 24 hours (urban) and 5 days (rural) for transformer fault, 8 hours (urban) and two days (rural) for replacing damaged meters has been fixed.
If the distribution company fails to comply with the same, it will have to pay compensation at the rate of ₹50 per day, he said.
For violation of time limit for installation of new power connection (domestic), ₹50 per day compensation has been fixed, he said.
The CSERC observed that with the implementation of this regulation, it would not only bring reforms in the working of power distribution companies but will establish a sense of responsibility towards consumers.
Chhattisgarh has become the first State in the country to enact and implement this rule with an intention to ensure quality and uninterrupted power supply for consumers, Mr. Shukla added.