PRESIDENT, DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, SAMBALPUR

CONSUMER COMPLAINT NO.- 01/2023

Present-Dr. Ramakanta Satapathy, President,

  Sri. Sadananda Tripathy, Member

Koushalya Barik,

W/O-Late Bibhuti Bhusan Barik,

At-Siba Mandir, Sakhipada, PO-Sambalpur,

Ps-Sadar, Dist-Sambalpur-768001.                         .……….......Complainant.

Vrs.

1. Executive Engineer, Sub Division-I,

Bhutapara, SEED, TPWODL,

2. SDO, Sub-Division-I, TPWODL,

Bhutapara, SEED Sambalpur-768001.           ....……….Opp. Parties

Counsels:-

1. For the Complainant             :-     Sri. Siba Barik, Authorised Person
2. For the O.P.s                         :-     Sri. S.K.Nanda, Legal Officer, TPWODL

Date of Filing:02.01.2023,  Date of Hearing :03.04.2023  Date of Judgement : 22.05.2023

Presented by Sri Sadananda Tripathy, Member.

1. The Brief fact of the Complainant is that the Complainant is a Consumer under the OPs vide consumer old account No. ODM-9A-125 and new account No. 14111025332. The said account is registered in the name of Late Bibhuti Bhusan Barik. After several request to the OPs to change the name of the consumer after the death of her husband from 2015 onwards. The present Complainant has paid time to time electric bill to the OPs but OPs not change the electric line to the Complainant. The OPs are threatening to deposit the all arrear amount within 7 days. If not deposited the electric line to be disconnect from the present Complainant premises without supply of disconnection notice. The Complainant is a senior citizen and widow lady and not able to proceed to the electric office for change of the electric consumer in the name of the Complainant due to her old age and paid all dues time to time. But the OPs did not supply electric bill to the Complainant timely. The last bill is received on dtd. May- 2022. The OPs have not collected the meter reading and submitted electric bill in a excess manner. The OPs have disconnected the electric line and also taken back electric wire the to the premises of the Complainant with using muscle power without any information to the Complainant on dtd. 28.12.2022. The OPs assured to the Complainant for supply the electric line within 2 days but till date not connected the electric line to the premises of Complainant or not change the consumer name. The Complainant suffered a lot since 2015 due to non-change of electric consumer number in the name of the Complainant for which there is gross deficiency on the part of OPs and financial loss and mental agony and filed a case before this Commission. The Complainant has also filed an Interim Application vide IA No. 01/23 in which this Commission passed an Interim Order and directed the Complainant to deposit Rs. 20,000/- within 7 days with the OPs and the OPs were directed to restore the power supply immediately by thereafter within three days of deposit.
2. The written statement of the O.Ps is that the present Complaint relates to Consumer No. 4161-3304-0070 which has been allotted to Bibhuti Bhusan Barik of Sakhipara, Sambalpur, for a contract demand/permitted load of 2KW under LT/Domestic category. The supply has been extended to the premises of the consumer during the period of erstwhile OSEB/GRIDCO. The Complainant is a regular defaulter in paying energy bills. Due to regular default of payment, the outstanding arrear of the consumer piled up to INR 1,65,638/- up to November 2022 for which the OPs requested the consumer to pay the outstanding arrear bill. The Complainant on 31.12.2022 sent a letter to the OPs from which the fact of death of the consumer came to the knowledge of the OPs. The Complainant was requested to apply as per prescribed format with required documents and payment of outstanding arrear for change of name of the consumer. The averment regarding payment of all dues and non-receipt of monthly energy bill are false and fabricated. As per the provision under Regulation 39 of the OERC Distribution (Conditions Of Supply) Code, 2019 (herein after referred to as “the Code, 2019”) a connection may be transferred in the name of the legal hairs upon death of the consumer upon filing an application form in the prescribed format given in Form-1 appended to the Code, 2019. As per Regulation 41 of the Code, 2019 the applicant shall apply for the change of name of the consumer as per format prescribed in Form-1 with a copy of latest bill duly paid in full and death certificate of the consumer and legal hair certificate. In the present case the Complainant did not comply the mandatory provisions of law for such change of name. After payment of outstanding dues if the Complainant will apply for change of name as per format with required documents, the same will be processed as per provisions of law. Since there is huge amount of outstanding dues stands unrealized in the name of the consumer, the OPs in every month served disconnection notice under Section 56 of the Electricity Act, 2003 read with Regulation 172(1) of the Code, 2019 along with the monthly energy bill for payment of the outstanding arrear amount. The energy meter installed in the premises of the consumer is running accurately and in every month the consumer has been issued with energy bill as per actual meter reading of the energy meter installed in the premises of the consumer. The provisional billing made to the consumer on some occasions during the year 2021-22 has already been auto-adjusted in the billing account of the consumer. The OPs is serving disconnection notice to the consumer every month along with the electricity bill as per Section 56 of the Electricity Act, 2003 with a request to the consumer to pay the outstanding dues. Since the consumer failed to pay the outstanding dues in spite of repeated request the OPs disconnected the power supply to the premises of the consumer as a last resort as per Regulation 172(1) of the OERC Distribution (Conditions of supply) code, 2019. In compliance to the interim order passed by this Commission on 03/01/2023, the electricity connection was restored in the consumer’s premises on 07/01/2023, after receiving INR 20,000/- from the Complainant. The consumer and the Complainant are negligent in paying the energy bills since date of power supply. The Complainant intimated the fact of death of the consumer on the last day of the year 2022 to make out a case before the learned Commission. The Complainant did not pay outstanding dues nor submitted application as per prescribed format nor submitted required documents for change of name. To patch up her negligence she blamed the OPs only to avoid payment of the lawful energy dues. There is no deficiency in the service of the OPs for which the Complainant suffers financial loss and mental agony.
3. From the above it is found that the consumer and the Complainant are negligent in paying the energy bills for which there is a huge amount of outstanding bills/arrears and further the Complainant did not pay outstanding dues nor submitted application as per prescribed format and required documents for change of name. So there is no deficiency of service found against the OPs.  Though there is a dispute of outstanding and change name of beneficiary of previous consumer, the Complainant is advised to take shelter before the G.R.F of TPWODL which has been established in exercise of powers of the Electricity Act, 2003 for redressal of the grievances of the consumers.  Accordingly the case is dismissed on contest.

                  Order pronounced in the open Court today on 22^nd day of May, 2023.

                 Free copies of this order to the parties are supplied.