ToD tariff: Not even 1% electricity meters replaced so far in TN
Activist S Neelakanta Pillai alleges abuse of power and regulatory negligence in the continued imposition of a 25% peak hour surcharge on EB bills;
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CHENNAI: Thirty-two months after the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) introduced time-of-the-day (ToD) charges for the low-tension consumers – educational institutions, hospitals, industrial and commercial consumers – TN Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) has either reconfigured or installed new ToD meters, numbering about 15,000 meters only.
As against a total of 42.25 lakh consumers in the LT category who are supposed to pay the ToD charges, TNPDCL has reconfigured only 14,768 consumer meters for recording the ToD consumption.
As per the tariff order in September 2022, TNERC extended the ToD tariff to LT connections from HT. It has introduced the charges for LT consumers who had to pay 25% additional charges for consumption during the peak hours of 6-10 am and 6-10 pm. The reduction of 5% was for consumption at night (10 pm to 5 am) as an incentive.
Until the installation of ToD meters, the commission had allowed TNPDCL to collect 25% extra on the energy charges for 20% of the total consumption from LT category consumers. If the consumer insists on installing ToD meters, TANGEDCO should fix the meter within 15 days or permit the consumer to procure and supply the meter on his/her own, the TNERC order said.
In a letter addressed to senior officials of TNPDCL and TNERC, a retired TNEB executive engineer and consumer rights activist, S Neelakanta Pillai, alleged rampant abuse of power and regulatory negligence in the continued imposition of a 25% peak hour surcharge on EB bills. He said not even 1% of the meters were either reconfigured or new meters installed to levy ToD charges on consumers.
He accused the DISCOMs of issuing inflated bills based on unverified peak hour usage, causing undue financial burden on consumers. “This is a gross violation of natural justice and a betrayal of the consumer,” he said, and lambasted the Commission for its “deliberate inaction” and accused it of shielding TNPDCL from accountability.
A senior TNPDCL official said that instructions were given to all the superintending engineers to immediately fix the new ToD meter or reconfigure the existing meter if the consumer insists on fixing a meter. “Reconfiguration of all the existing meters is time-consuming. Once the smart metering works begin, all meters will be replaced,” the official said.