Issue 1Jan-Mar-2010

Consumer Power

CONSUMER POWER 1

KA N

R OIN SA SITA MK MA OE CL E YC RT OR TAIC LI UT GY RE

Quarterly newsletter from Office of Consumer Advocacy

Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission, Bengaluru

After the enactment of the Electricity Act 2003 there has been a significant progress in promoting and protecting the welfare of the electricity consumers. Several electricity regulatory Commissions and electricity companies have recognized the need to institutionalize consumer advocacy. Some of the requirements relating to consumer protection under the

Electricity Act 2003 have been complied with. In some states the regulators and the Government have gone ahead and are trying to put in place a system of consumer advocacy. The

Haryana State GovernmentThe Haryana State Government has constituted the Consultative Committee (CC) for each of the sub-divisions under the chairmanship of the sub-divisional magistrate. The CC has six ex-officio members and five nominated members. The CC consists of representatives from trade, industry, agriculture, resident welfare associations and one women representative. The CC shall

including meet once in a month and shall forward its recommendations to all concerned to the Member-Secretary of the district

The objectives of this CC are:

·To address consumer related issues such as facility of bill payments, billing etc

·To suggest measures for improving the electricity services in urban and rural areas

·To identify the area specific requirements for electricity services such as bill payment, meter reading and release of new connection forms

·To suggest measures for public participation in electricity services especially in the areas of bill distribution, meter reading and collection in rural areas

·To suggest measures for consumer awareness programs about theft of electricity and the stringent Anti-theft provisions of Electricity Act 2003

th (Haryana Government, Power Department, Notification No.1/21/2003-1 Power dated 28 September 2005)

efforts of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission are already known. It is necessary that consumer advocacy in all sectors, especially the electricity sector is strengthened so that the benefits of regulation reaches the ultimate consumers.

However the concept of consumer advocacy is new to India. Though consumer protection is as old as the days of Kautilya (of the Arthashastra fame) the movement has not evolved itself to the changing situations and needs. With independent regulatory institutions being established in almost all sectors, consumer movement has to be tuned to the ever-growing changes in the market place. While the KERC took the initiative in 2001 to establish the Office of Consumer Advocacy (OCA), it is only recently the other states have taken steps in this direction. Given the fact that the concept of consumer advocacy is still generic in nature, several states have been experimenting with different models. There is a need to study the various models available at the national and international levels so that an ideal consumer advocacy model emerges. In this background we bring here some efforts made in other states of India. The consumer advocacy models at the international level will be discussed in forthcoming issues. It is hoped that consumers, regulators, government and other stakeholders will be benefited by this exercise.

Consumer Advocacy in Power Sector : Some examples in India

Initiatives of Tamil Nadu Electricity

Regulatory Commission

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has also taken s teps to cons t i tu te a consumer advocacy and education cell. It has already started publishing a bi-lingual newsletter. It has invited interested groups /public to submit proposals for forming the cell. The format of the cell is similar to that of UPERC

(Source: )www.tnerc.tn.nic.in

Next Page >>>>>

What is a Smart Meter ? 3

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CONSUMER POWER2

A consumer advocacy cell (CAC) has been set up in the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC). The CAC was established in February 2005. The main objective of this is to involve consumers in the power sector reform process in Assam

through active participation in the public hearings conducted by the Commission and other- discussions to be organized by the Commission. CAC will endeavor to protect the interests of consumers and make their voice heard in the processes relating to activities of the Commission. The objective of the CAC is:

·To represent consumers' interests in all matters relating to power sector before the Commission by getting feedback from consumer representatives

·To act as a source of information to consumers of electricity and provide them with the necessary guidance on various power related issues

·To conduct survey of performance standards of licensees for the benefit of consumers

·To ensure that all decisions and actions in the power sector in the state are not just consumer friendly but also environment friendly

·To represent consumers' interests in all matters relating to power sector before the Commission by getting feedback from consumer representatives

·To act as a source of information to consumers of electricity and provide them with the necessary guidance on various power related issues

·To conduct survey of performance standards of licensees for the benefit of consumers

·To ensure that all decisions and actions in the power sector in the state are not just consumer friendly but also environment friendly.

(Source: )

A team has been constituted with the Chairperson, AERC as Chief Mentor, the Secretary, AERC as Adviser , Joint Director (Tariff) as Supervisor, Consultant (Consumer Advocacy) as In-Charge, Consultant (Data Collection) as Coordinator, Other Officers and Staff of AERC as Team Members has been constituted. www.arc.gov.in

Consumer Advocacy Cell in AERC

Consumer Advocacy Cell in UPERC

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity

Regulatory Commission (UPERC)

has constituted the Consumer Cell

for Education and Advocacy

(CCEA) . The goal/objective of

CCEA is :

·To empower consumer to

participate effectively in the

regulatory process

·To represent consumers on all

matters relating to power sector

·To act as a clearing house of

information to consumers on

electrical issues

·To highlight grievances and

complaints of electr ici ty

consumers by bringing out

questions-answers in its news letter etc (Source: )www.uperc.org

District Committees

One of the requirements of the

Electricity Act 2003 is that the

State Governments have to set up

District Committees for each

district as per sub-section 5 of

section 166 of the EA 2003. Some

of the States like Haryana (vide

notification No.1/21/2003-1

Power dated 1.9.2005) have

constituted the committee.

Consumer advocacy groups

involved in electricity related

issues can obtain the information

f r o m t h e E n e r g y / P o w e r

department of respective states

a n d e n s u r e i t s e f f e c t i v e

functioning. This is one issue for

which civil society groups can

use the Right to Information Act

2005 effectively. Readers are

requested to send details/copy of

the notification, if they obtain it.

The same will be published in this

newsletter for the benefit of the

general public

Electricity Consumers Advocate Committee in Delhi

On the recommendations of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi has constituted an Electricity Consumers Advocate Committee (ECAC) to represent the consumers adequately before the Regulatory Commission/Appellate Tribunals/Courts etc. in the matters relating to tariff, cross subsidy, electricity supply to unauthorized colonies, examination of ARRs. The broad scope of the of the ECAC are as follows:*Represent consumer interest in litigation and adjudication before

authorities over the issues of cross-subsidy, quality of service and supply related problems

*Monitor notified performance standards followed by various DISCOMS and raising

it before appropriate legal forums in case of any shortcoming in implementation*Intervene in courts and tribunals on behalf of consumers

*Promote consumers education

*Bring out a newsletter for benefit of consumers

*Hold meetings with Resident Welfare Associations on consumer p r o b l e m s o f

generic nature and to take up with the appropriate statutory authorities*Prepare annual report to submit to government highlighting its activities and

achievements Source: )www.bijlipgr.gov.in

CONSUMER POWER 3

What is a Smart Meter ?Very soon electricity supply companies will be able to gather data about power consumption of consumers through wireless radio signals. The new digital meters, dubbed 'smart meters', collect hourly energy-use data from individual homes and relay that information via wireless radio signals for the electric utility. Consumers will be able to view their data online, or with

mobile devices, playing active roles in managing their energy consumption and costs, by tracking hourly charges incurred by users, including energy costs.The smart grid will allow electric utilities to send out detailed monthly bills that resemble other monthly statements such as for cell phones. The new technology will help utilities monitor power distribution across the grid, and in conjunction with other 'smart' technology in the home, to more efficiently use electricity.Smart meters are slightly larger than their older counterparts. New appliances will 'talk' to smart meters, monitor consumption data and help homeowners use power more effectively, retrofit components will give existing appliances new capabilities.

(Source: US Department of Energy, Pittsburgh Gas and Electric, The New York Times/MCT)

Energy efficiency labels must for electrical goods

thFrom 7 January 2010, no electrical appliance maker will be allowed to sell products that are low on energy savings. The government has told electrical appliances' makers to sell only those products that have been certified as energy efficient. The directive at present applies to four

categories of con sumer goods – refrig e r a to r s , a i r cond itioners, tube lights & transformers. The same requirement would be extended to other products such as motor pumps, ceiling fans, LPG stoves, colour tele visions and water geysers gradually. At present, companies including Samsung, LG, Whirlpool and

Godrej get their products labeled voluntarily.th

The gazette notified on July 7 2009, makes it mandatory for companies to get these products labeled as energy efficient by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) before sale. BEE is the nodal agency for executing energy efficienty and conservation schemes in the country. It gives star ratings on a scale of one to five depending on the efficiency to 10 categories of electrical appliances. BEE is constantly increasing the number of appliances that can be rated voluntarily, which was started about two years ago, with refrigerators, would also be extended to washing machines and cell phone chargers. Consumer durables manufacturers have appreciated the move to make ratings compulsory saying they are prepared for the change. Some, however, say that consumers may have to shell out more from their pockets for the products. It is said that consumers will have to pay a premium to purchase a star rated energy efficient electrical appliance. According to Whirlpool, a customer has to paya price premium of Rs.800 to Rs.1000. Although energy-efficient products do not require separate manufacturing lines, they would need a change in design engineering. In case of refrigerators, there has to be change in foam and shield systems.

(Source: Financial Chronicle)

Efficiency labeling to save Rs.80000 crore on investmentsAccording to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), efforts to become energy efficient and reduce consumption of power by 5 per cent (nearly 10000 MW of avoided capacity) by 2012 are on course with the avoided generation in the first three years of the current plan period estimated to be around 4400 MW. The Standards & Labeling Scheme (S&LS) for electrical appliances, under which four products have initially been given star ratings for meeting energy efficiency norms, has started making a visible impact with the build up of a huge waiting list for 5 star rated air conditioners in Mumbai & Delhi. The Director-General of BEE has said that in the first year of compliance 600 MW of energy was saved which doubled to 1200 MW the next year. About the benefit of labeling in respect of the 11 electrical products identified for it, the BEE Director-General has said the saving, when all of them are covered under mandatory labeling, would be about 10000 MW installed capacity, This amount to a saving of Rs.80000 crore in vestment on power plants, distribution lines etc and saving on recurring costs would be extra. (Source: Business Line, 21.11.2009)

Minimum purchase norms on renewable energy The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) plans to ensure that in a year from now, all state power utilities will have to purchase at least 5 per cent of their grind needs from renewable energy sources and at lease 15 per cent by 2020. According to Pramod Deo, Chairman and Chief executive of

CERC, the details in this regard are still being worked on. This plan is part of a scheme being put in place to address global climate change. At present as many as 20 state Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) have issued standards on the minimum percentage of energy to be bought from renewable sources. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are buying a tenth of their grid needs from such sources and it is four per cent in Maharashtra. From 2009-10 onwards all electrical energy utilities in the country will have to buy renewable energy. There will be one per cent increase in the purchase of renewable energy for every year for the next 10 years. (Adapted: Business Standard, 19.6.2009)

CONSUMER POWER 4

KA N

R OIN SA SITA MK MA O E CL E YC RT OR TAIC LI UTY RE G

Office of Consumer Advocacy

6&7 Floor, Mahalakshmi Chambers, 9/2, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bengaluru-560001,

Tel: 080 25320213, 214 Extn.239. Fax: 080-25320338,

Email: kerc35@bsnl.in website: www.kerc.org

Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission

Consumer Meet held at Mysore

The Institution of Engineers (India), Mysore Centre in collaboration with Mysore District Small Scale Industries Association, had organized a consumer meet

that Mysore on 27 February 2010. The object of the meeting was to discuss the power situation in Mysore, the timings for load shedding and other grievances. Mr.Narasimha Gowda, EE of Chamundeshwari Electr ici ty Supply Corporat ion (CESC) & Mr.Y.G.Muralidharan, Consultant (Consumer Advocacy) of KERC, were present.

A large number of consumers present in the meeting complained about the erratic supply of power and load shedding without prior information. Shri.Gowdappa from Hunsur said that IP sets are not working properly due to low voltage. Shri.Manjunath from Grameena Grahakara Parishat, Bettadpura, made a submission about the indifferent attitude of the CESC officials and the power supply situation in rural areas.

Dr.Bhamy Shenoy of Mysore Grahakara Parishat said that power theft need to be curbed. He said that CESC officials themselves are not aware of the quantum of power availability and the timings. He said there needs to be a proper coordination between KERC and the electricity supply companies. Ms.Sridevi said that the transformer near her house is in a dangerous position and a hazard for the residents.

In his response Mr.Y.G.Muralidharan said that KERC is a quasi-judicial body mandated to regulate the power sector in the State. It has a role to play within the framework of law. He said KERC and OCA have been trying to protect the consumers and it is the consumers who have to take more interest and participate effectively. He asked the participants to have periodical meetings with the Managing Director and other officials of CESC and bring the grievances to their notice.

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