Highlighting a string of serious lapses in billing practices and internal accountability, the Punjab Electricity Ombudsman has quashed a staggering ₹26.26 lakh electricity demand slapped by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on Gobindgarh Public College. The demand was issued after the utility wrongly linked an incorrect power connection to the institution’s account—a technical error that went undetected by officials for more than five years and ultimately drew sharp censure from the regulatory authority.
The case dates back to March 2019, when the Mandi Gobindgarh-based college, which holds a non-residential supply (NRS) electricity connection with a sanctioned load of nearly 150 kW, installed a rooftop solar power system. Along with this, a bi-directional net meter was integrated to record both the electricity drawn from the grid and the surplus power exported back to the utility. For over five years, the college received routine bills from PSPCL, all of which were paid promptly and in full. During this half-decade period, no inspection report or anomaly was ever filed to suggest a defect in the metering system.
Surprise inspection reveals improperly installed meter
The issue finally surfaced in October 2024, when PSPCL’s enforcement wing conducted a surprise inspection. Officials discovered that one wire inside the electricity meter had been connected incorrectly. This wiring error caused the meter to under-report data; it was recording only about one-fifth of the electricity actually drawn from the grid and nearly one-third of the solar power exported. Notably, once the wiring was corrected on-site, the meter immediately began recording power accurately, proving that the device itself was functional but had been improperly installed.
Following the discovery, PSPCL presumed the defect had existed since the meter’s installation in 2019, despite having no documentary evidence to prove when the incorrect wiring occurred. On this basis, the utility retrospectively overhauled the college’s account for 67 months and issued a demand notice for ₹26.26 lakh on October 29, 2024.
Challenging what it termed an arbitrary and unsupported demand, the college approached the Corporate Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CCGRF) in Ludhiana. In its February 14 order, the forum quashed the original demand and directed PSPCL to rework the bills while ordering an internal inquiry to fix responsibility for the unchecked operation of the faulty connection.
Although PSPCL subsequently revised the demand to ₹20.73 lakh after correcting errors in fixed charge calculations, the college escalated the matter to the Punjab Electricity Ombudsman. The college had already deposited 40% of the disputed amount as mandated by regulations to pursue the appeal.
PSPCL failed to conduct regular inspections: Ombudsman
After hearings held throughout July and August, the Ombudsman found PSPCL’s approach legally untenable. The order highlighted that the utility had failed to carry out mandatory six-monthly inspections for over five years. Furthermore, the Ombudsman noted that consumption data showed no abnormal spikes after the wiring was corrected, which weakened PSPCL’s claim of long-term under-billing.
Ultimately, the Ombudsman ruled that under the Supply Code, 2014, electricity bills can only be revised for the six months immediately preceding the correction of a defect, rather than the entire five-year period. PSPCL has been directed to recalculate the college’s bills specifically for the period of April 25 to October 24, 2024. The Ombudsman also upheld the directive to fix accountability among senior PSPCL officials, stating that consumers cannot be burdened with massive retrospective bills resulting from institutional negligence and delayed detection.
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