Section 2 in The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (Guidelines For Establishment Of Forum For Redressal Of Grievances Of The Consumers) Guidelines, 2003
2. Short title, commencement and interpretation.
-(i) These Guidelines may be called the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (Guidelines For Establishment of Forum For Redressal of Grievances of the Consumers) Guidelines, 2003.(ii)These Guidelines shall be applicable to all Distribution and Retail Supply Licensees in their respective licensed areas.(iii)These Guidelines shall extend to all the areas under jurisdiction of the Commission.(iv)These shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. 3. Definitions.-In these guidelines, unless the context otherwise requires,(a)"Act" means the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003);(b)"appointed date" means 10th day of June 2003;(c)"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Forum;(d)"complainant" means(i)a consumer; or(ii)any consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or under any law relating to registration of societies and/or Charitable institution or under any other law for the time being in force; or(iii)one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest;(iv)in case of death of a consumer, his legal heirs or authorised representatives;(v)any other person who is affected by the services or business carried out by the distribution licensee.(e)"complaint" means any allegation in writing made by a complainant that-(i)an unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by the licensee in providing electricity service;(ii)the electricity services hired or availed of or agreed to be hired or availed of by him suffer from deficiency in any respect;(iii)a licensee has charged for electricity services mentioned in the complaint, a price in excess of the price fixed by the Commission; (iv) electricity services which are hazardous to life and safety when availed, are being offered for use to the public in contravention of the provisions of any law for the time being in force or of any license;(v)violation of any law or license requiring the licensee to display the information in regard to the manner or effect of use of the electrical services;(vi)any defect or deficiency in electricity service;(vii)breach of any obligation by the licensee which adversely affects any consumer or which the Forum may consider appropriate to be treated as complaint.(f)"consumer" means any person who is supplied with electricity for his own use by a licensee or by the Government or by any other person engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public and includes any person whose premises are for the time being connected for the purpose of receiving electricity with the works of a licensee, the Government or such other person, as the case may be;(g)"consumer grievance" means a complaint/protest/objection filed by the complainant;(h)"distribution licensee" or "licensee" means authorised to operate and maintain a distribution system for supplying electricity to the consumers; (i) "defect" means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, or standard of service, equipment or material which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or under any contract, express or implied, or under any license or as is claimed by the distribution licensee in any manner whatsoever in relation to electricity service;(j)"deficiency" means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or under any license or has been undertaken to be performed by distribution licensee in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to electricity service or performance standard, viz, interruption/ failure of power supply, voltage complaints, metering problems including meter shifting, charges /payments (billing problems), disconnection/ reconnection of power supply to the consumer, new connection/extensions in load, notice of supply interruptions, making and keeping regular/special appointments, violations of Electricity Supply Code, contravention of Act, rules or regulations made thereunder with regard to consumer interest;(k)in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the term the "electricity service" means supply, billing metering and maintenance of electrical energy to the consumer and all other attendant sub-services etc.;(l)"Forum" means 'Forum for redressal of consumer grievances' constituted by distribution licensee under section 42 (5) of the Act;(m)"ombudsman" means an authority appointed/designated by the Commission under sub-section (6) of section 42 of the Act;(n)"Commission" means the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission;(o)words and expressions used and not defined in these guidelines but defined in the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003) or in the Delhi Electricity Reform Act, 2000 (Delhi Act 2 of 2001) or in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in these Acts.
