REGULATIONS FOR CONSUMER GRIEVANCE TNEB

TAMIL NADU ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
CHENNAI
REGULATIONS FOR CONSUMER GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL FORUM AND
ELECTRICITY OMBUDSMAN

Notification No. TNERC/ CGR&EO/6/1 dated 8.1.2004
 

 In exercise of the power conferred on it by section 181 read with sub-sections (5), (6)
and (7) of section 42 of The Electricity Act, 2003 (Act No: 36 of 2003) and all other
powers enabling it in this behalf, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission
makes the following Regulations, namely:-
 

PART - 1 - GENERAL
1 i) These Regulations may be called the “Regulations for Consumer Grievance
Redressal Forum and Electricity Ombudsman, 2004”.
Short title,
Commencement
ii) These extend to the whole of the State of Tamil Nadu.
iii) These shall come into force on 10.6.2004.
2 In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires: Definitions
(a) "Act" means the Electricity Act, 2003.
(b) “area of supply” means the area within which a distribution licensee is authorized
by his/her/their licence to supply electricity.
(c) “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the forum.
(d) "Commission" means the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission.
(e) “complainant” means—
(i) a consumer of electricity supplied by the Licensee including applicants for new
connections;
(ii) any voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1
of 1956) or under any other law for the time being in force;
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(iii) the Central Government or any State Government - who or which makes the
complaint;
(iv) one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same
interest;
(v) in case of death of a consumer, his legal heirs or representatives.
(f) “complaint” means any grievance made by a complainant in writing on:-
(ii) unfair or restrictive trade practices of licensee in providing electricity services;
(iii) Charging of a price in excess of the price fixed by the Commission for
consumption of electricity and allied services;
(iv) Electricity services which will be unsafe or hazardous to public life in
contravention of the provisions of any law for the time being in force.
(g) "consumer" means any person who is supplied with electricity for his own use by
a licensee or the Government or by any other person engaged in the business of
supplying electricity to the public under this Act or any other law for the time being in
force and includes any person whose premises are for the time being connected for
the purpose of receiving electricity with the works of a licensee, the Government or
such other person as the case may be.
(h) “defect” means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity,
purity or standard of service, equipment or material which is required to be
maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or under any contract,
express or implied, or as is claimed by the distribution licensee in any manner
whatsoever in relation to electricity service.
(i) “deficiency” means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the
quality, nature and manner of supply which is required to be maintained by or under
any law for the time being in force or has been undertaken to be performed by
distribution licensee in pursuance of a contract agreement or otherwise in relation to
electricity service or performance standard, violations of Electricity Supply Code,
contraventions of Act, Rules or Regulations made thereunder with regard to
consumer interest.
(j) “distribution system” means the system of wires and associated facilities between
the delivery points on the transmission lines or the generating station connection and
the point of connection to the installation of the consumers.
(k) “Electricity Ombudsman” means an authority to be appointed or designated by
the Commission, under sub-clause (6) of Section 42 of the Act, with whom a
representation may be made in accordance with sub-clause 17 (1) of these
Regulations.
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(l) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the term the "electricity
service" means electricity supply, metering, billing, maintenance of electrical energy,
(m) “Forum” means ‘forum for redressal of grievances of consumers’ to be
(n) "Licensee" means a person who has been granted a licence under section 14 of
the Act.
(o) Words and expressions used and not defined in these Regulations but defined in
the Act, or the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986) shall have the meanings
respectively assigned to them in these Acts
PART-II CONSUMER GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL FORUM
3 (1) Every distribution licensee shall establish a forum or forums for redressal of
grievances of the consumers in accordance with these Regulations.
Constitution of
forum(s) for
redressal of consumer
grievances
(2) A licensee may establish more than one forum so as to ensure that any
consumer in the area of supply of the licensee shall not have to travel more than 100
Kilometres to submit his complaint with the forum for redressal. The concentration of
the consumers in a particular area and the number of complaints expected to be
received and the constraints of the forum in disposing of the complaint within the
stipulated time frame may also be taken into account to determine the places and
the number of forums to be established.
(3) The head office of the forum shall be at such place(s) as each distribution
licensee may specify in accordance with the sub-clause 3 (2)
(4) The forum shall consist of three members to be appointed by the distribution
licensee with the following composition.
(a) Chairperson of the forum shall be a full time officer of the licensee not lower in
rank than the rank of Superintending Engineer.
(b) One member shall be a person with 15 to 20 years experience in financial / legal
profession and shall be nominated by the District Collector of the district where the
forum is head quartered.
(c) Another member shall be from a registered society of NGO or a consumer
organization or a consumer activist and shall be nominated by the District Collector
of the district where the forum is head quartered.
(5) Every member of the forum except the Chairperson shall hold office for a term of
three years and shall not be eligible for reappointment as such. Provided that no
member shall hold office as such after he has attained the age of sixty two years.
The person occupying the designated post of the Distribution Licensee to act as
Chairperson shall be deemed to be the Chairperson of the forum
(6) The quorum of the forum shall be two among the three members, which includes
the Chairperson. The post of the Members shall not be kept vacant for more than two
months.
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(7) The honorarium for each sitting shall be decided by the Licensee subject to
approval by the Commission and TA / DA and other allowances payable to the
members shall be as applicable to Class I officers of the State Government. The
office space, secretarial support and other facilities required by members for efficient
functioning of forum shall be provided by the distribution licensee.
(8) Not withstanding anything contained in sub-clause 3(5), a Member ( other than
the Chairperson) may relinquish his office by giving in writing to the Licensee a
notice of not less than two months
(9) Not withstanding anything contained in sub-clause 3(5), where the Commission is
satisfied that in the public interest or for the reason of incapacity of any Member, it is
necessary so to do, it may for reasons to be recorded in writing remove any Member
from his office.
4 Subject to the other provisions of these Regulations, the forum shall have jurisdiction
to entertain the complaints within the jurisdiction of the distribution licensee. If there
is more than one forum in the same Licensee’s area, then the area of jurisdiction
may be decided by the Licensee in accordance with sub-clause 3 (2).
Jurisdiction of the
forum
5 The forum shall take up any kind of grievances/complaints as defined in clause 2 (f)
of these Regulations. However, the consumer's grievances concerned with
Kind of grievances that
can be taken up by the
forum
(i) unauthorized use of electricity as detailed u/s 126 and
(ii) offences and penalties as detailed u/s 135 to 141 of the Electricity Act 2003 are
excluded from the purview of this forum.
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(1) The Licensee shall notify details such as the address, telephone numbers and
email address of the Forum often in the media. The Licensee shall make available
copies of the procedure for lodging complaints to the Complainants at free of cost.
The applications/bills/receipts issued by the Licensee to the consumers shall contain
the address of the concerned Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum and the
statement 'Complainants whose grievance is not redressed by the official of the
Licensee may approach the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum' shall also
be printed on it.
(2) Every grievance to the forum must be submitted in writing to the Chairperson of
the forum in the complaint format given in Annexure-I. The complaint can also be
lodged through email to the respective forum’s email ID (which will be published by
them widely). Such mode of complaint can be in text format with the required
information and address of the complainant.
Grievance filing
procedure
7 (1) On receipt of the grievance from any complainant, the chairperson shall make
endorsement on the grievance subscribing his dated initial. Grievances received
shall be registered and serially numbered for each year.
Grievance handling
procedure for the
forum
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(2) Within seven working days of receipt of a consumer grievance, the forum shall
send an acknowledgement to the complainant. If the grievance / petition is
anonymous, the same shall be rejected on receipt and placed before the forum in the
next available opportunity for recording the same.
(3) On receipt of a complaint and following the procedure mentioned under subclause
7.1, the forum may, by order allow the complaint to be proceeded with or
reject. Provided that the complainant shall be informed in writing if the complaint is
rejected. Provided further that the admissibility of the complaint shall ordinarily be
decided within 10 working days from the date on which the complaint was received.
Where a complaint is allowed to be proceeded, the forum may proceed with the
complaint in the manner provided under these Regulations.
(4) A copy of the admitted complaint shall be forwarded simultaneously to the nodal
officer of the concerned licensee for redressal or to file objection in writing if the
licensee is not agreeable to the request of the complainant.
(5) The licensee shall furnish the para-wise comments on the grievance within 15
days of receipt of the letter from the forum, failing which the forum shall proceed on
the basis of the material record available. The complainant can represent himself or
through a representative of his choice. Where the complainant or his representative
fails to appear on the date of hearing before the forum, the forum may either dismiss
the complaint for default or decide it on merits.
(6) The forum shall be entitled to call for any record of the licensee and also from the
complainant in respect of the grievance received by the forum for examination and
disposal of the grievances.
(7) On receipt of the comments from the licensee or otherwise, the forum shall
complete enquiry as expeditiously as possible and every endeavour shall be made to
pass appropriate order on the complaint within a maximum period of 2 months from
the date of receipt of complaint by the forum.
(8) All decisions shall be taken by a majority of votes by the members present and in
the event of the equality of the votes, the facts may be recorded and referred to the
Electricity Ombudsman for final orders. All the members present shall sign every
order passed by the forum.
(9) The proceedings and decisions of the forum along with timeframe for compliance
shall be recorded and communicated to the complainant and licensee for
compliance.
(10) The licensee shall implement the decisions of the forum within the timeframe
specified in the order and report compliance to the forum within 5 days of the
implementation of the order.
(11) In respect of grievances on non implementation of standards of performance of
licensee on consumer service specified by the Commission under section 57(1) of
the Electricity Act 2003, if the forum finds that there was default of the licensee, it
shall only hold that the consumer is entitled to the compensation and shall state that,
the consumer if agreed, can accept the compensation prescribed by the Commission
in the relevant Regulations.
8 Any person aggrieved by an order made by the forum may prefer an appeal against
such order to the Electricity Ombudsman within a period of 30 days from the date of
Appeal
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Provided that the Electricity Ombudsman may entertain an appeal after the expiry of
the said period of 30 days if the Electricity Ombudsman is satisfied that there was
sufficient cause for not filing it within that period.
Provided further that the Electricity Ombudsman shall entertain no appeal by any
party, who is required to pay any amount in terms of an order of the forum, unless
the appellant has deposited in the prescribed manner, twenty five percent of the
amount as ordered by the forum.
9 The forum shall submit a report to the Commission on the category-wise number of
complaints received, redressed and pending for every quarter of calendar year in the
Format given in Annexure-II.
Monitoring Report
PART - III ELECTRICITY OMBUDSMAN
10 (1) The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission will designate / appoint one or
more persons to be known as Electricity Ombudsman to carry out the functions
entrusted to him by these Regulations.
Appointment and
tenure
(2) The minimum age of the person to be considered for appointment as Electricity
Ombudsman shall be 58 years.
(3) The appointment of Electricity Ombudsman under this clause may be made for a
period not exceeding three years. Provided that the tenure of an Electricity
Ombudsman, may be extended by the Commission for further period not exceeding
three years subject to an overall age limit of 65 years.
(4) The Electricity Ombudsman appointed under sub-clause 10(1) shall devote his
whole time to the affairs of his office.
(5) Where the Commission is satisfied that in the public interest or for the reason of
incapacity of the Electricity Ombudsman, it is necessary so to do, it may for reasons
to be recorded in writing and by giving him three months’ notice or by paying three
months’ consolidated emoluments in lieu of the notice period, remove any Electricity
Ombudsman from his office.
11 The territorial limits of Electricity Ombudsman extend to the whole of the State of
Tamil Nadu. If the Commission appoints more than one Ombudsman, the
Commission shall specify the territorial limits.
Territorial
jurisdiction
12 The office(s) of the Electricity Ombudsman(s) will be located at such place(s) as may
be specified by the Commission. In order to expedite disposal of complaints, the
Electricity Ombudsman may hold sittings at such places within his area of jurisdiction
as may be considered necessary and proper by him in respect of a complaint or
reference, as the case may be, before him.
Location of Office and
temporary
headquarters
13 The Electricity Ombudsman appointed / designated should be a person with ability,
integrity, conversant with the working of electricity sector and enjoying high
reputation.
Qualification
14 The honorarium and other perquisites payable to Electricity Ombudsman will be
determined by the Commission from time to time and shall be borne by the
Distribution licensees in such proportion and in such manner as may be determined
by the Commission.
Remuneration
15 The Electricity Ombudsman shall be provided with a secretariat. The staff pattern
and salary etc., shall be approved by the Commission The cost of the secretariat
will be shared by distribution licensees in such proportion as may be determined by
the Commission.
Secretariat
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16 The Electricity Ombudsman shall have the following powers and duties. Powers and duties
of Electricity
Ombudsman
(a) To receive the appeal petitions against the order of the consumer grievance
redressal forum and consider such complaints and facilitate their satisfaction or
settlement by agreement, through conciliation and mediation between a licensee and
the aggrieved parties or by passing an award in accordance with the Act and Rules
or Regulations made thereunder.
(b) The Electricity Ombudsman shall exercise general powers of superintendence
and control over his office and shall be responsible for the conduct of business
thereat.
(c) The Electricity Ombudsman shall have the powers to incur expenditure on behalf
of the office. In order to exercise such power, the Electricity Ombudsman will draw
up an annual budget for his office in consultation with Commission and shall exercise
the powers of expenditure within the approved budget. The Commission will indicate
the share of expenditure to be borne by the distribution licensees.
17 (1) Any consumer, who is aggrieved on the order on the grievance or non- redressal
of his grievances by forum constituted under section 42 (5) of the Electricity Act 2003
by licensees relating to providing of electricity supply, may himself or through his
representative make a complaint to the Electricity Ombudsman. Complaints of
common nature (which may be considered applicable to more than one forum) can
be directly brought upto Electricity Ombudsman by a State level Consumer
Association.
Procedure for
filing a complaint
(2) The complaint shall be in writing duly signed by the complainant or his authorised
representative and shall state clearly the name of the individual or the organization,
postal address, telephone number and email address (if any) of the complainant.
(3) The complaint shall also contain the number of the service connection, category
of the service, address of the location of the service connection, name of the local
licensees' office and address against which the complaint is made, the facts giving
rise to the complaint supported by documents if any and the relief sought from the
Electricity Ombudsman.
Note:- The Licensees shall ensure that the address of the Electricity Ombudsman to
whom the appeals could be made by the consumers against the order of the forum
are displayed in their premises. The Licensee shall ensure that copies of these
Regulations are made available to the consumers on payment of a cost, which shall
not be more than the cost of printing or reproduction.
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(4) No complaint to the Electricity Ombudsman shall lie unless:
(a) The complainant had before making a complaint to the Electricity Ombudsman
made a written representation to the forum of the licensee named in the complaint
and either the forum had rejected the complaint or the complainant had not received
any reply within a period of two months from date of filing of the grievance or the
complainant is not satisfied with the reply given to him by the forum. This shall
however not be applicable to the complaints of common nature described under
clause 17 (1).
(b) The complaint is made within three months after cause of action has arisen.
(c) The complaint, which is not settled, is not in respect of the same subject, which
was settled through the office of the Electricity Ombudsman in any previous
proceedings whether received from the same complainant or along with one or more
complainants or anyone or more of the parties concerned with the subject matter;
(d) The complaint does not pertain to the same subject matter for which any
proceedings before any court is pending or a decree or award or a final order has
already been passed by any competent court; and
(e) The complaint is not frivolous or vexatious in nature.
18 The Electricity Ombudsman may reject the complaint at any stage if it appears to him
that the complaint made is;
Rejection of the
complaint
(a) frivolous, vexatious, malafide ; or
(b) without any sufficient cause or;
(d) prima facie, there is no loss or damage or inconvenience caused to the
complainant.
19 (1) For the purpose of carrying out his duties, an Electricity Ombudsman may require
the licensee named in the complaint to furnish certified copies of any document
relating to the subject matter of the complaint, which is or is alleged to be in its
possession, within 15 days. Provided that in the event of failure of a licensee, without
any sufficient cause, to comply with the requisition made under this clause, the
Electricity Ombudsman may, if he deems fit, draw the inference that the information,
if provided, or copies, if furnished, would be unfavourable to the licensee and
proceed to settle the case on that basis.
Powers to call for
information
(2) The Electricity Ombudsman shall maintain confidentiality of any information or
document coming into his knowledge or possession in the course of discharging his
duties and shall not disclose such information or document to any person except with
the consent of the person furnishing such information or document. Provided that
nothing in this clause shall prevent the Electricity Ombudsman from disclosing
information or document furnished by a party in a complaint to other party or parties,
to the extent considered by him to be reasonably required to comply with the
principles of natural justice and fair play in the proceedings.
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20 (1) As soon as it may be practicable to do, the Electricity Ombudsman shall cause a
notice of the receipt of any complaint along with a copy of the complaint to the
concerned office of the licensee named in the complaint and endeavour to promote a
settlement of the complaint by agreement between the complainant and the licensee
named in the complaint through conciliation or mediation.
Settlement of
complaint by
agreement
(2) For the purpose of facilitating for settlement of the complaint, the Electricity
Ombudsman may follow such procedures, as he may consider appropriate.
(3) When a complaint is settled, through mediation of the Electricity Ombudsman,
undertaken by him in pursuance of request made in writing by complainant and
licensee through mutual agreement, the Electricity Ombudsman shall have the
settlement recorded and signed in his presence and cause issuance of orders on the
settlement of grievances by mutual agreement.
21 (1) Where the complaint is not settled by agreement under clause 20, the Electricity
Ombudsman may determine the stage, the manner, the place, the date and the time
of the hearing of the matter as the Electricity Ombudsman may consider appropriate.
Hearing of the
matter
(2) The Electricity Ombudsman may decide the matter on the pleadings by oath of
both the parties and direct the parties to written note of arguments or submission in
the matter. The parties can be represented in person or through representatives of
their choice.
22 (1) Where the complaint is not settled by agreement under clause 20, the Electricity
Ombudsman shall pass a speaking order with detailed reasoning that he thinks fair
in the facts and circumstances of a claim.
Award
(2) The order shall be in writing and shall state the full details of the award to the
complainant and licensee.
(3) The Electricity Ombudsman shall pass an award within a period of three months
from the date of' receipt of the complaint.
(4) A copy of the award shall be sent to the complainant and the licensee named in
the complaint. A copy of the award may also be sent to the concerned forum for
information.
(5) The Licensee shall comply with the award within the period specified in the award
and shall intimate the compliance to the Electricity Ombudsman.
23 (1) The Electricity Ombudsman shall send to the Commission, by 1st May every
year, a report containing a general review of the activities of his office during the
preceding financial year and shall furnish such information as the Commission may
direct.
Report of Electricity
Ombudsman
(2) The Commission may, in the public interest, publish the report and the intimation
from the Electricity Ombudsman in such consolidated form or otherwise as it deems
fit.
24 Nothing contained in these Regulations shall affect the rights and privileges of the
consumers under any other law for the time being in force, including the Consumer
Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986).
Savings
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25 If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of these Regulations,
the Commission may by general or special order, direct the licensee to take suitable
action, not being inconsistent with the Electricity Act 2003, which appears to it to be
necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing difficulties.
Powers to remove
difficulties
26 The Commission may, at any time add, modify, delete or amend any provision of
these Regulations subject to the provision of the Electricity Act. 2003.
Power to amend
(By Order of Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission)
R. BALASUBRAMANIAN
SECRETARY
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ANNEXURE - I
CONSUMER REDRESSAL FORUM
COMPLAINT FORMAT
(Please tick ( √ ) in the box whichever is applicable) DATE:
1) SERVICE CONNECTION RELATED
i) For new service: Date of application: LT HT
Domestic Commercial Industrial Agriculture Others
ii) For existing service:
Service Connection No:
Replacement of Service lines Meter Problems Meter Capacity Enhancement
Additional Load Conversion to 3 Phase Shifting Of Service
Name Transfer Tariff Change Billing Problems
Deficiency in Services Other Complaint
Date of representation
Date of payment made if any
iii) Quality of power supply
Low Voltage Voltage Fluctuation Frequent Supply Interruption
From (Date) To (Date) From (time) To (time)
Address of the location of the existing / proposed service connection (common to all complaints)
2) OTHER COMPLAINTS:
i) Discourtesy
ii) Denial of requisite information
iii) Wanton delay on account of
Registration of application Acceptance of payment
Fixing of meter Effecting service connection
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iv) Demand / Acceptance of bribe:
Time Date Place
LICENSEE’S EMPLOYEE AGAINST WHOM COMPLAINT IS MADE
(for more than one person fill in separate form)
Name
Designation
Office
Address
Descriptive details
of the complaint
(common to all
complaints)
3) COMPLAINANT’S DETAILS
Name and Address Telephone No
Email Id
Signature of the Complainant
NOTE: i) Send separate sheets if necessary to cover details of complaint ii) Complainant is assured
that there will be no harassment for giving this complaint iii) Complete postal address of the
complainant is essential for taking action.
__________________________________________________________________
FOR OFFICE USE
Grievance No Name of
Data Entry
Operator
Date of receipt
Division Signature
(Add separate sheets if required)
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Annexure-II
Consumer Grievance Redressal Monitoring Report
Complaints Status Nature of Complaints Sno
Delay in
effecting
supply
Quality of
voltage
Interruptions Metering
Problems
Billing
Problems
Tariff
Problems
Others
Total
1 Complaints Pending
during the starting of
the last quarter.
2 Complaints Received
during the last Quarter
3 Total complaints
4 Complaints Attended
during last quarter
5 Balance Complaints to
be attended
6 Complaints pending for
more than 3 months but
less than 6 months
7 Complaints pending for
more than 6 months
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