UP Power consumer can claim compensation for service faults

Lucknow, May 23 Electricity consumers in Uttar Pradesh will now be able to legally claim compensation for a default in the delivery of services by the UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).

The UPPCL has implemented the law made in this regard by the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) more than three years ago.

"UPPCL chairman M. Devraj has informed the UPERC that the corporation has implemented the compensation law through an online software in the entire state," a UPERC official said.

According to the order issued by Devraj in this regard, consumers can register their complaint about a service default as well as their compensation claim on the corporation's 1912 toll-free number, in case the complaint is not resolved within the specified timeframe.

"The compensation number will be generated online separately to the consumer concerned and the claim too will be processed online. Compensation will be provided to all eligible complainants within a maximum of 60 days from the date of lodging the complaint," the UPPCL chief said in his order.

The Standard of Performance Regulations was notified by the UPERC in December 2019, fixing the maximum time for the delivery of services.

It also prescribed fines to be imposed on discoms in case of a default.

As part of the Regulation, standards of performance will form the basis to measure performance against the standards for the licensee in providing service and ensuring that distribution companies meet minimum standards which are necessary from the perspective of consumers.

The amount of compensation claimed by consumers will be different for different service defaults.

The UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad president, Awadhesh Kumar Verma said that the implementation of the law will help consumers get better and time-bound services.

"We had been demanding the execution of the compensation law by discoms for a long time," Verma said.