Tamil Nadu Electricity Ombudsman S. Devarajan has said Tangedco might consider issuing a detailed working procedure for the replacement of old conventional meters with static meters, especially in multi-tenement dwellings.
He said this while passing an order on a complaint filed by a consumer about abnormal readings having been recorded after the replacement of old meters with static meters.
Old meters were replaced with static meters in two service connections on the premises of Coimbatore-based A. Yakoob Hussain on May 15, 2020.
After the replacement of the meters, the readings recorded on June 30, 2020 and subsequently on August 31, 2020 were abnormally high.
Mr. Hussain requested a revision of the consumption charges by taking the previous six months’ average.
In its response, Tangedco said that as per the direction of the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF) of the Coimbatore Electricity Distribution Circle, it had conducted a study for the period from December 4, 2020 to December 24, 2020, which found that the existing static meters were healthy, and hence, the readings were correct. The root cause of the problem was a wiring defect.
The Ombudsman noted that as per regulation 30 of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Distribution Code, the onus was on the consumer to maintain or test the equipment and wiring on his premises. The consumer was liable to pay the recorded current consumption charges, which were due to incorrect wiring on his premises, the Ombudsman said while rejecting the plea.
“Tangedco should educate consumers whenever old conventional meters are replaced with static meters. Its field engineers and staff should also be educated whenever they are installing static meters to avoid such occurrences elsewhere,” Mr. Devarajan said.
