The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) ordered private distribution companies to send provisional bills to non-domestic customers only on fixed charges and taxes, following reports of inflated electricity bills.
This means that industrial , commercial and other non-domestic connections will not be charged on the basis of their energy consumption or units. However, this would only apply to those who are given provisional bills.
Before that order, such bills were based on the readings of the corresponding duration of 2019. This means that even if, say, the store was closed during the lockdown and had no electricity consumption, it was to be billed on the basis of the power consumed during the same period last year.
According to the directives issued last month by the power regulator, provisional billing is now to be made only in cases where the meter could not be read or registered during the billing process due to the lockdown. Consumers who send meter readings on their own will receive a rebate of Rs 20 and actual bills.
“The distribution licensee (discom) shall raise such provisional bills for the fixed charges and associated applicable charges only, considering the energy consumption as nil,” the DERC’s order stated.
Explaining the reasons for the decision, the power regulator claimed that consumers in the industrial and non-domestic tariff groups had indicated that they were “facing difficulties” because the provisional bills issued by the discoms were “much higher” in that they were focused on last year’s usage.
“Whereas, because of closure of units due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic and a direction of the government in this regard, the actual consumption of such units/ establishments is almost nil/negligible,” the order read.
Gauging revenue losses from the order of the DERC and relaxing the lock-down rules, the discomforts have now called on their meter readers to re-start work.
“In support of the government’s measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, some BSES services including meter reading and bill distribution, had been curtailed. But now, adhering to all the necessary safety precautions, we have restarted meter reading for a certain section of our consumers. The exercise will be ramped up in the coming days so consumers can be given actual bills based on their consumption. Bills raised prior to DERC’s order have been reversed, so these complaints have already been addressed,” said a BSES spokesperson.
Discom Tata Power-DDL said it had issued provisional bills to approximately 1,25 lakh non-domestic consumers in the north and north-west of Delhi since April. “Out of 1.25 lakhs, we have already revised the bills of about 90,000 customers. Thankfully, the majority of our non-domestic customers have smart meters or AMR systems that automatically produce real bills even during the lockout, “said the TPDDL spokesperson.
For traders and factory owners, the order of DERC was a welcome measure, but it was not enough, as some requested a moratorium on power bill payments until 30 June.
“This (DERC’s order) just partially resolves our problem. Industries have just started to open up. The industries have been closed for over two months. It is wrong to expect people to pay the electricity bills right away. The power regulator should issue a moratorium on payment of bills till June 30 for non-domestic connections,” said Raghuvansh Arora, vice-president of Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI).
Arora added, “When neighbouring states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab can waive off fixed charges during the lockdown period and provide relief, why can’t it be done in Delhi? DERC, on the other hand, did just the opposite by imposing fixed charges and excusing us from paying the energy charges.”
Since April, a large number of industrial units in the Narela and Bawana industrial areas, which have almost 25.000 small and large industries, have been issued provisional bills for discomfort.
Rajesh Garg, Secretary of the Indian Trade and Industry Council and owner of Narela ‘s factory, said, “As business is at an all-time low now and with migrant labours going back home, it is becoming difficult to restart our units. The government should support the industrial and traders for the economy to get back to normal. The centre has provided financial assistance to discoms. As work will take time to pick up, we request the government to charge for actual consumption of electricity.”
