Chh’garh consumers to get compensation for power cuts

RAIPUR: People will be entitled forcompensation if they are made to face prolonged power cuts in Chhattisgarh, the state electricity regulator said on Friday.

The Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC) has enacted new rules in a bid to ensure interruption-free power supply to consumers and for the first time included the provision of giving compensation against extended outages, it said in a statement.

Chhattisgarh has become the first state to implement 'compensation for power cut' policy, an official said.

Under the Electricity Act, 2003, a target was set for ensuring supply of quality and uninterrupted power to consumers.

"Accordingly, the CSERC was given the responsibility to fix quality parameters of power supply," said SP Shukla, Secretary

of CSERC, in the release.

In this line, the CSERC had enacted rules for the same in 2006 but neither there was a provision of standard parameters for supply of uninterrupted power to consumers nor the provision of compensation to consumers against noncompliance of the rules," he said.

Keeping this in view, the CSERC has notified CSERC (Standards of Performance in Distribution of Electricity) Regulation - 2020 in May under which it has fixed maximum time -limit for monthly outages as well as for each interruption in supply of electricity by power companies, Shukla said.

Provision of providing monetary compensation to consumers in case power distribution companies violate these parameters has also been made, the statement said.