On 21st December, 2020 Union Ministry of Power for the 1st time promulgated rules to empower consumers of electricity by issuing “Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020”. On the occasion, Union Minister of State Power R.K. Singh assured that the issued rules will provide consumers with reliable service and quality electricity.
Note-
Proposed Rules will benefit 30 crore existing customers, also targeted to provide benefits to new rural consumers.
Specific Highlights:
i.Consumers can apply for New electricity connection, pay bills and avail other services through online facilities.
ii.Electricity connections timeline-
- 7 days in Metro cities
- 15 days in Other cities
- 30 days in Rural area
iii.Aimed at improving Ease of Doing Business in India, through seamless process of to avail new connection and effective dispute redressal mechanism.
Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules:
- Rights of consumers and Obligations of Distribution licensees
- Release of new connection and modification in existing connection
- Metering arrangement
- Billing and Payment
- Disconnection and Reconnection
- Reliability of supply
- Consumer as Prosumer
- Standards of Performance of licensee
- Compensation Mechanism
- Call Centre for Consumer Services
- Grievance redressal mechanism
The enactment of these Rules is one of the most significant reforms towards achieving the fulfilment of the objectives of the Electricity Act 2003.
Recent Related News:
- On June 5, 2020, as a part of World Environment Day (WED) celebrations, Minister of State (IC) (Power, New & Renewable Energy) Raj Kumar Singh has initiated the “#iCommit” Campaign for building an energy resilient future. This initiative is headed by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of the Ministry of Power.
- To develop strong cooperation and promote strategic intervention in the power sector, an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on the Indo-Denmark Cooperation between the Ministry of Power, Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate, Government of the Kingdom of Denmark was signed on 5th June 2020.
About Ministry of Power:
Union Minister of State (MoS)- Raj Kumar Singh, Arrah (Bihar) Constituency
Secretary– Sanjiv Nandan Sahai
