New regulations passed by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) may require the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to increase the number of Consumer Grievance Redressal Forums (CGRF) and include consumer representatives on the panels.
Consumers should not have to travel more than about 100 km to lodge their complaint/grievance with the CGRF, say the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum and Electricity Ombudsman) Regulations, 2023, published by the commission.
At present, the KSEB, the main power distribution licensee in the State, operates only three regional CGRFs for the 14 districts.
“The concentration of consumers in a particular area and the number of complaints likely to be received and the constraints of the forum in disposing of the complaints within the stipulated time frame may also be taken into account, while fixing the location of the CGRF,” the regulations said. The nature of complaints could range from power supply disruptions, excessive billing or errors in billing, and issues related to disconnections and applications for new connections.
The commission issued the new regulations on November 14 in line with the changes required under the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, issued by the Centre.
In line with the Central rules, the regulations require distribution licensees to also include consumer and prosumer representatives in the CGRF. As per the amendment, the CGRF panel should have four members; chairman, member (law), member (licensee), and member (consumer/prosumer). The member (consumer/prosumer) will be nominated by the licensee with the commission’s approval for a period of three years.
Further, the regulations require all distribution licensees to constitute Internal Grievance Redressal Cells (IGRC) “to record and redress the grievances of the consumer in a timely manner”. The IGRC should have offices at the sub-division, circle, and company level of the licensee. For the moment, IGRCs will be applicable only to the KSEB. For the time being, small distribution licensees serving a limited area need not establish them.
Additionally, the commission must establish and fund a Consumer Advocacy Cell (CAC), according to the regulations. The CAC will work to improve consumer awareness on matters related to the power sector. This step is expected to help them take informed stands in cases coming up before the commission.
The new regulations replace the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum and Electricity Ombudsman Regulations passed by the commission in 2005. The KSEB had established the three regional CGRFs (other licensees, one each) with a chairperson and two members in accordance with the 2005 regulations.
The commission published the new regulations after conducting a public hearing on July 25 on a draft.
