Lucknow, Sep 28 (IANS) There’s seemingly good news for power consumers in Uttar Pradesh. The state-run Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation will soon have to shell out monetary compensation for every long power cut – but it has to be of at least six hours duration.
The decision was taken earlier this month by the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC), that was now all set to issue a notification to implement the new rule, an official spokesman disclosed here Wednesday.
According to him, every consumer would be entitled to compensation of Rs.50 for a six-hour power disruption and if the concerned supply authority failed to restore power within 10 to 13 hours, the compensation would be increased to Rs. 100 and Rs.150 respectively.
The compensation would be reflected in the next bill issued to a consumer, he said.
However, the commission has put some riders too. As such, no compensation would be payable in case the disruption is on account of tripping of the transmission lines or due to a natural calamity.
‘Only failure in the distribution system or tripping of the distribution line would entitle a consumer to the compensation,’ said the spokesman.
‘Furthermore, the disruption needs to be for a minimum six hours at a single stretch and not in parts,’ he added.
While welcoming the move, Uttar Pradesh Power Consumers Forum president Avadhesh Verma said: ‘We are happy that the regulatory commission has conceded our long pending demand for payment of compensation to consumers in case of prolonged disruptions; but there are still several issues to be addressed.’
