Chalk out plan to check meters: regulatory body directs discoms

In the aftermath of the BSES inflated power billing fiasco,the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued an order to all private power distribution companies (discoms) in the city...

In the aftermath of the BSES inflated power billing fiasco,the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has issued an order to all private power distribution companies (discoms) in the city,including the NDMC,to prepare a plan for checking meters installed in consumers premises on a sample basis.

When the inflated bill issue cropped up,we discovered that according to regulations of the Central Electricity Act (CEA),discoms are required to check meters installed in consumers premises at least once in five years, a DERC official said.

Upon checking with the discoms,the regulator found no such checking has been carried out since power distribution was privatised. If a discom carries out a check on all their meters installed in Delhi,the cost of the checking exercise will be included in their aggregate revenue requirement,which in turn would determine tariff fixation, the official added.

The DERC has hence issued the directive asking discoms to draw up a plan for carrying out the checks on a sample basis by December 25. While the discoms were tight-lipped about how they intend to carry out the initiative,an official said the sample size would most likely be 1 per cent of all consumers in a discoms distribution network.

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