Indian Law
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 31st December, 2020
G.S.R. 818(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) read with clause (z) of sub- section (2) of section 176 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (Act 36 of 2003), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement.– (1) These rules may be called the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Definitions.– (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) ―Act means the Electricity Act, 2003;
(b) ―applicant means an owner or occupier of any premises who files an application form
with a distribution licensee for supply of electricity, increase or decrease in sanctioned load
or contract demand, change in title or mutation of name, change in consumer category,
disconnection or restoration of supply, or termination of agreement, shifting of connection
or other services as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, rules and
regulations made thereunder;
(c) ―application‖ means an application form complete in all respects in the appropriate
format, as specified by the Commission, along with documents and other compliances;
(d) ―billing cycle or billing period‖ means the period for which regular electricity bills as
specified by the Commission, are issued for different categories of consumers by the
distribution licensee;
(e) ―Commission‖ means the State Electricity Regulatory Commission constituted under section 82 of the Act;
(f) ―Consumer means any person who is supplied with electricity for his own use by a distribution licensee or the Government or by any other person engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public under the Electricity Act, 2003 or any other law for the time being in force and includes any person whose premises are for the time being connected for the purpose of receiving electricity with the works of a distribution licensee,the Government or such other person, as the case may be;
(g) ―days‖ means clear working days;
(h) ―disconnection‖ means the physical separation or remote disconnection of a consumer
from the distribution system of the distribution licensee;
(i) ―fixed charges‖ has the same meaning as per the provisions of the prevailing Tariff Order issued for the distribution licensee by the Commission;
(j) ―maximum demand‖ means the highest load measured in average kVA or kW at the point of supply of a consumer during any consecutive period of thirty minutes or as specified by the Commission, during the billing period;
(k) ―Occupier means the owner, tenant or person in occupation of the premises where electricity is used or proposed to be used;
(l) ―point of supply means the point, as may be specified by the State Commission, at which a consumer is supplied electricity;
(m) ―prosumer means a person who consumes electricity from the grid and can also inject
electricity into the grid for distribution licensee, using same point of supply;
(n) ―temporary connection means an electricity connection required by a person for meeting
his temporary needs such as-
(i) for construction of residential, commercial and industrial complexes including pumps for dewatering;
(ii) for illumination during festivals and family functions;
iii) for threshers or other such machinery excluding agriculture pump sets;
(iv) for touring cinemas, theatres, circuses, fairs, exhibitions, melas or congregations.
(o) ―Unauthorised use of electricity has the meaning as assigned to it under section 126 of
the Act.
(2) The words and expressions used and not defined in these rules but defined in the Act shall
have the meanings assigned to them in the Act and in absence thereof, the meanings as commonly
understood in the electricity supply industry.
3. Rights and Obligations.- It is the duty of every distribution licensee to supply electricity on request made by an owner or occupier of any premises in line with the provisions of Act. It is the right of consumer to have minimum standards of service for supply of electricity from the distribution licensee in accordance with the provisions made in these rules.
