Haryana: Action against power discom for issuing incorrect bills

The Haryana Right to Service Commission has directed the electricity department to compensate a consumer from Fatehabad district following a hearing on his complaint.

A spokesperson of the commission said the complainant alleged that despite consistently paying his bills on time, he was wrongly issued a “half-margin” notice demanding Rs 18,000. Even after depositing a partial amount of Rs 9,000, the consumer continued receiving erroneous bills.

From November 2023 to April 2025, the consumer was billed based on KWH units, instead of the legally required KVAH units. This technical error was corrected only recently, after which a revised bill amounting to Rs 61,688 was handed to the consumer, causing mental and physical distress.

The commission held that the error resulted from administrative negligence. It emphasised that if the department had issued accurate bills in the first place, the consumer would have paid them regularly, and this situation could have been avoided.

Under Section 17(1)(h) of the Right to Service Act, 2014, the commission has ordered compensation of Rs 1,000 for each incorrect bill. The SDO concerned has been instructed to submit a report by August 8, specifying how many bills were issued incorrectly. Based on this report, the Managing Director of the electricity utility will ensure that the compensation is paid to the consumer.

The commission has also clarified that the power discom is free to recover this amount from the responsible officials, as per the rules. These directives aim to restore public trust in the system and ensure that honest consumers are not penalised for administrative oversights.

Additionally, the commission has directed the discom to immediately issue a corrected bill and treat the consumer’s previous payment as a partial payment toward the total.