The Haryana Right to Service Commission has taken strong action against officials for issuing excessively high electricity bills. The commission labeled this practice as a serious case of administrative negligence.
Bahadurgarh Case Details
In Bahadurgarh, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited faced scrutiny. A consumer either received no bills for a long period or got negative bills that required no payment. Suddenly, an electricity bill of approximately Rs 2.38 lakh arrived.
Even after the consumer complained, the rectification process remained phased and incomplete. This exposed the irresponsible working of the concerned officials.
Commission's Findings and Orders
The commission found that officials did not follow mandatory procedures. They failed to provide prior notice and ignored minimum time limits under the Electricity Supply Code.
Using its penal powers under Section 17(1)(h) of the Haryana Right to Service Act, 2014, the commission imposed a Rs 5,000 fine on two officials. These officials prepared incorrect sundry entries.
Each official must also pay Rs 1,000 as compensation to the consumer. The commission expressed dissatisfaction with the SDO officials who approved the incorrect entries. It directed that their names be recorded in the commission's records.
Furthermore, the commission ordered additional compensation for the consumer. The compensation rate is Rs 500 for each billing cycle wrongly issued since July 2022.
The corporation will initially pay this amount from its own funds. It may later recover the money from the erring agency or officials.
Hisar District Case
In another case from Hisar district, electricity bills were issued on an average basis. This affected two power accounts of a consumer from March 2020 to February 2024.
Earlier bills showed a bi-monthly consumption of around 160 units. Later, one account suddenly reflected consumption of approximately 45,000 units. This resulted in a bill of more than Rs 3 lakh.
The second account showed consumption of about 20,000 units. This led to a bill of Rs 98,000.
Commission's Response
The commission termed this situation as imposing an excessive financial burden on the consumer. It also caused severe mental harassment.
Officials did not give prior notice to the consumer as required by the Electricity Supply Code, 2014. They also did not allow the mandatory minimum period of 30 days for payment.
The reasons for the excessive billing were not clearly explained. The commission considered the Rs 1,000 compensation per account awarded by the SGRA inadequate.
Treating each wrongly issued bill as a separate case, the commission directed compensation at the rate of Rs 500 per incorrect bill for both accounts.
Concerned officers must determine the exact number of wrongly issued bills in both accounts. They must release the compensation at the earliest.
The managing directors of both power distribution corporations received another urging. They must formulate a clear policy to deal with such situations effectively.
