Showing scant regards for the Joint Electricity Commission (JERC), the Chandigarh Electricity Department has failed to purchase prepaid meters even two years after directions issued by the commission. On November 20, 2013, the commission had directed the electricity department to provide an option to consumers of either paying advance consumption demand (ACD) charges or installing prepaid meters. ACD is a refundable security charge which consumers have to pay. The amount of security is equal to the average electricity bill of two months. As per regulation 6.10 (10) of the JERC Electricity Supply Code of 2010, a licensee shall not take security deposit if the person requiring the supply is prepared to take the supply through a prepaid meter. [related-post] The directions were issued after the Industrial Area Tenants Association moved a petition before the commission seeking relief as per the same regulation. The department was given six months’ time to comply with the orders, but it sought extension of another six months. Extension was granted and the department was asked to approve a list of manufacturers of prepaid meter and frame a policy pertaining to installation of prepaid meters. B S Sani, general secretary, Chandigarh Industrial Area Tenants Association, claimed that a large number of people, including 50 members of their association, had applied for prepaid meters, but the department neither exempted them from security nor installed the prepaid meters. He further said that their association had purchased one prepaid meter as sample and handed it over to the department for approval. “We had requested the department to approve the meter so that the interested members of our association could get meters of the same specification installed,” said Sani. UT Superintending Engineer M P Singh said that they would soon issue a tender for purchase of prepaid meters. Giving reasons for the delay, Singh said, “It was a time-consuming process as they had to frame a policy for prepaid meters.” The electricity department caters to a total of 2.12 lakh consumers, out of which 1.75 lakh are in the domestic category. Of the total, there is regular billing of around 94 per cent of consumers. WHAT IS PREPAID METER? A prepaid meter works like a prepaid mobile. A consumer has to pay first to get power supply.
