Section 4 in Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (Electricity Supply Code and Related Matters) Regulations, 2015
4. This Code shall be applicable to:
(1)all Distribution licensees including Deemed licensees and all consumers in the State of Gujarat;(2)all other persons who are exempted under Section 13 of the Act; and(3)unauthorised supply, unauthorised use, diversion and other means of unauthorized use/abstraction/theft of electricity.1.1Electricity Supply Code Review Panel.-The review panel shall consist of the following members with adequate knowledge of technical matters related to electricity supply by Distribution Licensees. GERC will nominate the representative of the STU as Chairperson of the Review Panel. The Member-Secretary of the Supply Code Review Panel will be nominated by the Commission from among the representatives of Distribution Licensees. The Distribution Licensee whose representative is Member-Secretary shall provide the required administrative and other logistic support to the Review Panel and shall also bear the Travel expenses etc. of the members of consumer organizations or any member nominated by the Commission as per Clause 1.2 of this Code. The Member-Secretary shall be fully responsible for rendering needed secretarial assistance to the Review panel.Provided that the Chairperson of the Review Panel shall be an officer of the STU not below the rank of Chief Engineer. Besides the Chairperson, the Review panel shall consist of:(a)One member from each of the Distribution Licensees;(b)One member to represent all the Generating Companies to be nominated by GERC;(c)Chief Electrical Inspector, Government of Gujarat, shall be an ex-officio member of the Supply Code Review Panel.(d)Four representatives of the Industrial Consumers to be nominated by GERC. They shall be from a duly registered Organisation or Association of Industries/ chambers of commerce. Of these, two representatives shall be from LT Industrial Consumers and two from HT/EHT Consumers(e)Two members to be nominated by GERC from the registered Consumer bodies to represent the categories of the domestic and commercial Consumers.(f)One member to be nominated by GERC shall be from the registered bodies representing agriculture Consumers.1.2GERC may further add members to the review panel from any sector/ profession, as may be deemed necessary.1.3All the members of the review panel shall normally have tenure of two years unless they cease to be the member for any reason. The new member in replacement shall be from the same category and for the unexpired period of term.1.4The Review Panel can decide the procedure for transaction of its business.1.5The existing members of the Review Panel shall continue till the expires of their term or till the new members are appointed, whichever is later.1.6Functions of Review Panel. - The functions of the Review Panel shall be as follows:-(a)Review of the Supply Code as and when necessary.(b)Consideration of requests for review and making recommendations along with reasons to the Commission.(c)Issue of guidelines on implementation of the Supply Code.(d)Review of causes of electrical accidents and recommendations about required remedial measures in the light of reports of the Electrical Inspector under Section-161 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to avoid recurrence of such accidents.(e)Ensuring the consistency of the changes/modifications proposed in the Supply Code with other Codes, Laws, Acts, Rules and Regulations in force at that point of time.(f)Undertaking detailed studies of matters concerning the Supply Code and circulate findings and recommendations of such studies among the members of the Review Panel and other concerned entities.(g)Holding of regular meetings as required and at least once in six months.(h)Holding of meetings by any sub-committee of the Review Panel for discussing specific issues raised by any group of stake holders. Review and Revisions1.7Persons / Users seeking any amendment to the Supply Code shall send written requests to the Secretary of the review panel with a copy to GERC. If the request is sent to GERC directly, it shall be forwarded to the Secretary of review panel who shall, in consultation with the concerned entities and such other persons as the GERC may direct, review the provisions of the Supply Code. The Secretary shall circulate the proposed changes/modifications to all the panel members for their written comments within a reasonable time. If considered necessary, the Chairperson may convene meeting of the Review Panel for discussing the proposed amendments. Where the Review Panel considers necessary, it shall forward its recommendations to GERC for proposed amendments.1.8The Member-secretary shall send the following reports to GERC after each meeting of the review panel:(a)Reports on the outcome of such review.(b)Any proposed revision to the Supply Code.(c)All written representations and objections submitted by the Users/ Persons at the time of review.1.9The Member-secretary shall also forward a copy of agenda notes and proceedings of Review Panel meeting to the Commission.1.10All changes made in the Supply Code shall be duly incorporated in a standard copy to be kept with the Secretary of the Commission. The standard copy shall also contain a sheet showing chronology of all the changes made in the Supply Code. Copies of the relevant Gazette Notifications incorporating the changes in chronological sequence shall also be maintained.1.11An updated version of the Supply Code shall be placed on Commission's and Licensees' website. All Distribution Licensees shall maintain updated copies of the Supply Code in their offices and shall make it available for sale at a reasonable cost.1.12Limitations of the Supply Code.-Where in any unforeseen circumstances or operational contingencies, the Distribution Licensee is required to act decisively to discharge his obligations under the Distribution License. Users shall provide such reasonable co-operation and assistance as the Distribution Licensee may require in such circumstances. A report of such actions shall be submitted by the Distribution Licensee to the Review Panel and GERC within 72 hours.1.13Confidentiality.-The Distribution Licensee shall not furnish information about any consumers unless required to be furnished under any law by Central/ State Government departments or by any official agency.1.14Procedures to Settle Disputes.-In the event of dispute regarding any provisions in the Supply Code between any User and the Distribution Licensee, the matter shall be referred to Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission and its decision shall be final.1.15Other Regulations.-The provisions of the Supply Code shall be read in conjunction with regulations made under GERC (Standard of Performance of Distribution Licensee) Regulations, 2005, as amended from time to time, GERC (Licensee's Power to Recover Expenditure incurred in providing supply and other Miscellaneous Charges) Regulations, 2005, as amended from time to time, GERC (Security Deposit) Regulations, 2005, as amended from time to time and other relevant regulations and codes notified by GERC.1.16The Distribution Licensee may make an application to GERC and seek suitable orders to remove any difficulty that may arise in implementation of these Regulations.
