Chandigarh, April 20— In a major relief to nearly 2.47 lakh electricity consumers in Chandigarh, the Electricity Ombudsman of the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has ordered the UT Electricity Department and Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited to refund meter rental charges wrongly collected since April 1, 2023.
Upholding an earlier directive by the Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum (CGRF), the ombudsman stated: “The UT Electricity Department (former licensee) and Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (present deemed licensee) should make efforts to refund the meter rental wrongly charged from all consumers of the Electricity Department along with interest.”
The directive comes in response to a complaint filed by S.K. Nayar, president of the Indian Citizen’s Forum (ICF), who argued that meter rentals had been collected in violation of the JERC tariff orders for 2023–24 and 2024–25. “The tariff orders, issued on March 30 and July 25 respectively, did not approve any meter rentals. Despite this, the department continued to collect them,” Nayar said.
According to the forum’s order dated November 26, 2024, the department was directed to refund the excess rental collected since April 1, 2023, along with interest at the prevailing SBI rate, payable annually. It also asked for the consumers’ bills and accounts to be corrected within 30 days of the final order.
The CGRF also ordered the department to compensate seven complainants — Charanjeet Singh (two complaints), Tarlochan Singh, Chaman Lal, Komal Kumar, Satish Kumar, and Ganga Prashad — at Rs 100 per day for the delay in resolving their grievances.
The forum noted with concern that the UT Electricity Department failed to update its billing software to comply with the JERC’s 2023 tariff order. “It is surprising that no action was taken to stop charging meter rental despite clear instructions,” the order said.
The initial complaints had been raised at the SDO office in Mani Majra, with copies forwarded to the ICF. Narinder Sharma, the forum’s secretary, also met with the SDO but received no resolution, prompting the forum to escalate the issue.
After the department failed to act on the CGRF’s directives within the stipulated period, the ICF filed an appeal to the ombudsman on January 20, 2025. The ombudsman has now instructed the department to file a compliance report within 30 days.
Chandigarh currently has 2.47 lakh power consumers, including 2.14 lakh domestic users. The meter rent charged varies based on load and meter ownership — Rs 20 to Rs 50 for domestic users and Rs 50 to Rs 200 for commercial and industrial categories.
Nayar said the forum’s decision is a “step forward in protecting consumer rights” and that they will monitor the department’s compliance with the ombudsman’s order.
