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CORPORATE CONSUMERS GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL FORUM

PUNJAB STATE POWER COPROPRATION LIMITED
220 KV S/St. Opp. Verka Milk Plant, Ferozepur Road, Ludhiana.
Tel: 0161-297-1912, email: secy.cgrfldh@gmail.com
CASE NO.: CF - 017/2022 (New)/ CGL-046/2022(Old)

Date of Registration : 18.04.2022

Date of Closing : 07.07.2022
Date of Final Order : 11.07.2022

In the Matter of:

Sh. Gopal Krishan,

Committee Bazar, Hoshiarpur.
A/C No.: 3002184580.
Through:
Sh. Gopal Krishan …Petitioner
Versus

Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd

Through:
Addl. SE/Op. City Divn
PSPCL, Hoshiarpur. …Respondent

1. BRIEF HISTORY

Petition, against Case No. CF-017/2022 (New)/ CGL- 046/2022 (Old) has
been filed through Sh. Gopal Krishan, in CGRF (now Corporate Forum) by the
Petitioner bearing account No. 3002184580, in the name of Sh. Gopal Krishan
under City Division, Hoshiarpur, with a sanctioned load of 1.760 KW under
NRS category. Petitioner was issued bill dated 26.07.2021 amounting to Rs.
25240/- for the consumption of 2873 units on O code for the period of 63
days. He did not agree to this bill and challenged his meter. The meter of the
Petitioner was changed vide MCO no. 100014452032 dated 28.07.2021
effected on 28.07.2021. The removed meter was sent to ME lab. The meter of

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the Petitioner was checked vide ME challan no. 280 dated 01.10.2021 where
accuracy of the meter was found within limits and reading was recorded as
105142.6KWH. Further he was issued bill dated 07.09.2021 for 100003KWH
units’ consumption of 1 day amounting to Rs. 902990/- including previous
balance. Petitioner did not agree with this report and bills issued to him and
filed his case at CGRF now Corporate CGRF Ludhiana.
Forum heard the case in its proceedings on 20.04.2022, 21.06.2022, and
finally on 07.07.2022 when the case was closed for passing speaking orders.

2. PROCEEDINGS:
Proceedings dated 20.04.2022

The petition has been placed before the Forum for admission. After
considering the averments made in the petition, the petition is admitted.
Notice be issued to ASE/Sr. Xen/Op. City, Hoshiarpur (Respondent) along with
copy of petition.
Respondent shall submit four copies of the following record/documents
in quadruplicate: -
1. Respondent shall confirm that there is no case pending before any
Court/Forum or any other authority between PSPCL and Petitioner.
2. Respondent to confirm the status of up-to-date payments of regular energy
bills other than amount in dispute.
3. Respondent shall either resolve the grievance of Petitioner, if agreeable
with the grievance and intimate the Forum or file objections if any, with
relevant rules, regulations & documents.
4. Point-wise/Para-wise reply to the petition duly supported by copies of
relevant documents be submitted through hard copy & soft copy through
email at secy.cgrfldh@gmail.com.
5. Respondent shall also submit the following record/documents:
a. Respondent is directed to check/verify the bill dated 07.09.2021 of Rs.
902990/-for a consumption of 100003KWH units.
b. Copy of current site checking report with connected load.
c. Copy of the checking carried out by various authorities, with copy of
affected MCO(s), ME Lab Report of meter replaced in last five years.
d. Screenshots of meter reading before 09/2021, Consumption data along-
with readings, date of readings (in KWH, KVAH, MDI, PF etc.) also

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indicating the meter status, MF etc. o f the last five years and Sap
reading record be submitted.
e. Regulations of Supply Code, 2014 or any other relevant
Rules/Regulations vide which the amount charged.
f. It may also be certified that all the documents have been
checked/verified & signed by ASE/Sr. XEN and shall remain responsible
for the authenticity of the documents/information submitted before the
Forum.
Date of hearing will be intimated telephonically/Email.

Proceedings dated 21.06.2022

Respondent submitted three copies of reply to the petition along-with the
record/documents and the same has been taken on record. Petitioner is
directed to collect copy from O/o Respondent.
Respondent is directed to submit comment upon the remarks given in ME
lab challan at serial no. 2 as well as consumption pattern.
Petitioner did not appear without prior intimation.
The case is adjourned to 07.07.2022 for filling rejoinder/oral discussion.

Proceedings dated 07.07.2022

Respondent submitted hid oral discussion in writing which has been
taken on record.
Petitioner telephonically informed that case be closed from his side and
he has nothing more to say.
Respondent stated that the reply to the petition and other documents
already submitted may be considered as oral discussion.
The case is closed for passing speaking orders.

3. FACTS OF THE CASE AND OBSERVATIONS OF THE FORUM:

i. The Petitioner is having NRS connection with sanctioned load of 1.760KW in
the name of Sh. Gopal Krishan, running under Op. City Divn., Hoshiarpur.

ii. Petitioner in his petition pleaded as under: -

“bynqI kIqI jWdI hY ik myrw ib~l 902991.61/- ru~pey Aw igAw hY[ AsIN ieh mItr cYlMj
krvwieAw pr irport ivc mItr TIk pwieAw igAw[ swfI kdI vI ies mItr qy ibjlI Kpq nhIN
hoeI[ ieh mItr kmytI bjwr huuiSAwrpur ivKy lgw hoieAw hY[ ies leI swfw ieh kys
sI.jI.Awr.AYP ivKy ivcwirAw jwvy jI[ Awp jI dI myhrbwnI hovygI[“

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iii. Respondent submitted his reply to the petition is as under: -

“auprokq ivSy dy sbMD iv`c ey.eI./sMcwln, SihrI aup mMfl huiSAwrpur ny Awpxy
dPqr dy p`qr nM: 390 imqI 20.06.2022 nwl hyT ilKy Anuswr ies dPqr nUM sUicq kIqw hY
ik:-
pYrw nMbr 1:- dy sbMD iv~c sUicq kIqw jWdw hY ik gNhPB eosk tZb' dcso fty/
fwsh 25H3H2022 Bz{ fpB?gZso fdZsk j? fe MrV/ tkb/ fpZb Bz{ T[; tZb' fe;/ th
e'oN$c'ow$nEkfoNh ftZu Bjh brkfJnk j?.
pYrw nM 2:- dy sbMD iv~c disAw jWdw hY ik Kpqkwr tZb' fv;fgT{Nv fpZb dh oew s'
fJbktk pkeh pD/ fpZb dh oew iwK eotk fdZsh j?.
pYrw nM 3:- Anuswr disAW jWdw hY ik ygseko Bz{ fwsh 7H9H2021 Bz{ 100003 :
{fBN; dh ygs s/ 9,02,990 $^ o[gJ/ dk fpZb ikoh j'fJnk (;w/s fgSbk pekfJnk dh oew
26,145$^).ygseko tZb' I' whNo u?b/Ai ehsk frnk ;h.ME Lab dh fog'oN ubkB BzL 280 fwsh
1H10H2021 w[skpe ygseko dk whNo ;jh (ok) gkfJnk frnk ns/ fog'oN s/ fJ; whNo dh nkEoh
gVs 105142 KWH foe'ov ehsh rJh ns/ fog'oN ftZu fowkoe fdZsk j? fe bVh BzL 7 dk D.D.L
fog'oN iBo/N eoB ;w/ n?oo nk ojh j?.
g?ok BzL 4L^ nB[;ko dZf;nk iKdk j? fe ygseko dk whNo NRS e?Nkroh nXhB uZb fojk
j?,fi;dk wBi{oP[dk b'v 1H760 KW j?.fwsh 26H7H2021 Bz{ 2873 :{fBN; ygs dk fpZb
25,240$^ o[gJ/ ygseko Bz{ ikoh j'fJnk. fJ; fpZb T[gozs ygseko tZb' fwsh 28H7H2021
Bz{ whNo u?b/Ai eo fdZsk frnk nas/ ;pzXs i/HJhH tZb' fwsh 28H7H2021 ftZu whNo pdbh
eo fdZsk frnk j?.MCO T[Zgo u?b/Ai whNo dh nkyoh gVs 105134 KWH foekoV ehsh
rJh.fwsh 7H9H2021 Bz{ 100003 :{fBN; ygs s/ ygseko Bz{ (fgSbk pekfJnk 26,145$^ ;w/s)
9,02,991$^ o[gJ/ dk fpZb ikoh ehsk frnk.ygseko dk whNo ME. Lab tZb' ubkB BzL 280 fwsh
1H10H2021 Bkb u?Ze ehsk frnk ns/ gqkgs fog'oN nB[;ko whNo mhe gkfJnk frnk.ygseko
ME. Lab dh fog'oN Bkb ;fjws Bjh j'fJnk.T[;B/ nkgDk e/; CGRF e'oN ftzu brk fdZsk.
g?ok BzL 5L^ d/ ;zpX ftzu (A) ygseko Bz{ fwsh 7H9H2021 I' fe fpZb 9,02,990 $^ o[gJ/
dk 100003 :{fBN; s/ ikoh j'fJnk j? .
(B) ;kfJN u?Zfezr fog'oN Bkb BZEh j? ih.
(C) ygseko d/ njks/ dh fgSb/ 5 ;kbK s' e'Jh th u?fezr Bjh j'Jh ns/ Bk jh e'Jh whNo pdbh
j'fJnk.
(D) fgSb/ 5 ;kbK dk whNo ohfvzr vkNk Bkb BZEh j? ih.
(E) ygseko Bz{ gktoe'w tZb' w"i{dk N?foc w[skpe jh fpZb ikoh j'fJnk j? ih.
(F) BZEh vke{w?AN ;ko/ n;b w[skpe jh jB ih.”

iv. Respondent submitted in his written OD as under: -

“ies kys sbMDI Awp jI nUM d~isAw jWdw hY ik AYm.eI. lYb dI irport muqwibk
mItr dw DDL nhIN ho sikAw[ ies sbMDI XEN ME Aqy SDO ME nwl ivcwr kIqw igAw Aqy
d~isAw igAw ik jo AYm.eI. irport iv~c ies sbMDI remarks id~qy gey hn auhnW muqwibk
mItr dw swPtvyAr Krwb hY Aqy irkwrf hoeI Kpq shI nhIN hY[ ies muqwibk imqI 26-07-
2021 Aqy 27-07-2021 dI Kpq 2873 units and 100003 units dI Kpq TIk nhIN ho skdI[”

v. Forum have gone through the written submissions made by the Petitioner in
the petition, written reply of the Respondent as well as oral arguments made

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by the Petitioner and the Respondent along with the material brought on the
record. The issue that requires adjudication in the present dispute is to decide
the legitimacy of the bill issued on dated 07.09.2021 amounting to Rs.
902990/- on O code.

vi. Forum observed that Petitioner was issued bill dated 26.07.2021 amounting
to Rs. 25240/- for the consumption of 2873 units on O code for the period of
63 days. He did not agree to this bill and challenged his meter. The meter of
the Petitioner was changed vide MCO no. 100014452032 dated 28.07.2021
effected on 28.07.2021. The removed meter was sent to ME lab. The meter of
the Petitioner was checked vide ME challan no. 280 dated 01.10.2021 where
accuracy of the meter was found within limits and reading was recorded as
105142.6KWH. Further he was issued bill dated 07.09.2021 for 100003KWH
units’ consumption of 1 day amounting to Rs. 902990/- including previous
balance. Petitioner did not agree with this report and bills issued to him and
filed his case at CGRF now Corporate CGRF Ludhiana.
vii. The removed meter was sent to ME lab. The meter of the Petitioner was
checked vide ME challan no. 280 dated 01.10.2021 where accuracy of the
meter was found within limits.
Forum observed the consumption data, supplied by the Respondent as under:

Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Month Cons Code Cons Code Cons Code Cons Code Cons Code
Jan 24 O 1 O 21 O 0 O
Feb 43 O
March 30 O 2 O 6 O 0 O
April 8 N
May 88 O 45 O 17 O 10 O 1 O
July 155 O 0 O 90 O 0 O 2873, O
100003,
16
Sept 180 O 117 O 243 O 0 O 66 O
Nov 110 O 5 O 81 O 1 O 52 O
0 O

From the above consumption data, Forum observed that the

consumption recorded from 2017 to 2021 is 606, 193, 438, 40 & 103010 units
respectively Forum observed that the exorbitant consumption of 2873 for the
period of 24.05.2021 to 26.07.2021 and 100003KWH of 27.07.2021 was never
recorded before and after the replacement of the disputed meter.

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The site of the Petitioner was checked vide LCR no. 49/332 on dated
20.06.2022 where the connected load was found 1.253KW which is within the
sanctioned load of 1.76KW. Reading was recorded as 00326KWH, which shows
that there was consumption of just 326 units in about 11 months i.e. about 30
units per month.
Even in ME lab report the comments are given as under:
“mItr kRm nM:7 sI.nM. 8321930 myk eyvn dw Awr.tIsI. Krwb hY Aqy ies dy
swPtvyAr iv~c mItr dw sI.nM. glq (321792) Aw irhw hY kMipaUtr dy irport jnryt
krn smyN runtime error Aw irhw hY [”
Even the Respondent in his written OD has admitted that such a high
consumption is not correct and as per remarks in ME lab report the software
of the meter is corrupted.
In view of the above, Forum is of the opinion that such an exorbitant
consumption was never recorded and even Respondent admitted that
software of the disputed energy meter has gone corrupt and such a high
consumption recorded is not correct. Therefore, the abnormal consumption
recorded in 07/2021 can be ignored and the meter can be treated as
defective.

Regulation 21.5.2 of Supply Code dealing with Defective (other than

inaccurate)/Dead Stop/Burnt/Stolen Meters is as under: -
“The accounts of a consumer shall be overhauled/billed for the period meter remained
defective/dead stop and in case of burnt/stolen meter for the period of direct supply
subject to maximum period of six months as per procedure given below:
a) On the basis of energy consumption of corresponding period of previous year.
b) In case the consumption of corresponding period of the previous year as referred in
para (a) above is not available, the average monthly consumption of previous six (6)
months during which the meter was functional, shall be adopted for overhauling of
accounts.
c) If neither the consumption of corresponding period of previous year (para-a) nor for
the last six months (para-b) is available then average of the consumption for the
period the meter worked correctly during the last 6 months shall be taken for
overhauling the account of the consumer.
d) Where the consumption for the previous months/period as referred in para (a) to para
(c) is not available, the consumer shall be tentatively billed on the basis of
consumption assessed as per para-4 of Annexure-8 and subsequently adjusted on the
basis of actual consumption recorded in the corresponding period of the succeeding
year.

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e) The energy consumption determined as per para (a) to (d) above shall be adjusted for
the change of load/demand, if any, during the period of overhauling of accounts”.

Keeping in view the above, Forum came to unanimous conclusion that,

as the software of the disputed meter has become corrupted hence meter
can be treated as defective. The a/c of the Petitioner is required to be
overhauled for six months prior to the date of change of meter i.e.,
28.07.2021 with the consumption of the corresponding period of succeeding
year as per Reg 21.5.2 (d) of the Supply Code-2014.

4. DECISION:

Keeping in view the petition, reply, oral discussion, after hearing both
the parties, perusal of the record produced by them & observations of Forum,
Forum decides that: -

i. The disputed bills dated 26.07.2021 & 07.09.2021 are quashed. The a/c of
the Petitioner be overhauled for six months prior to the date of change of
meter i.e., 28.07.2021, with the consumption of the corresponding period
of succeeding year as per Reg 21.5.2 (d) of the Supply Code-2014.

ii. As required under Regulation 2.33 of the Punjab State Electricity

Regulatory Commission (Forum & Ombudsman) (2nd Amendment)
Regulations, 2021 the compliance of this decision shall be made within 21
days from the date of receipt of this order.

iii. If the Petitioner is not satisfied with the decision of Corporate CGRF, he is
at liberty to file a representation before the Ombudsman appointed /
designated by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission within
30 days from the date of receipt of the order of the Forum, as required
under Regulation 2.39 read with Regulation 2.37 of the Punjab State
Electricity Regulatory Commission (Forum & Ombudsman) (2nd
Amendment) Regulations, 2021.

(CA. Baneet Kumar Singla) (Er. Himat Singh Dhillon) (Er.Kuldeep Singh)

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Member (Finance) Independent Member Chairperson.

Place: Ludhiana.
Date: 11.07.2022

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