CONSUMER GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL FORUM, NORTHERN REGION,

PRESENT

SMT.MINI.P.NAYAR : CHAIRPERSON

SRI.G.RADHAKRISHNAN NAIR : MEMBER

SRI.K.K.KUNHIKRISHNAN : MEMBER

OP No.04/2015-16

PETITIONER:- 1.Sri.Shamsudheen, S/o Moidheen Kutty, Ambalathingal House, .P.O., -673007.

RESPONDENTS: 1.The Assistant Executive Engineer, Electrical Sub Division, , KSEB Ltd., Malappuram Dt.

2.The Assistant Engineer, Electrical Section, Edavannappara, KSEB Ltd., Malappuram Dt.

IN THE CONSUMER GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL FORUM, KSEB, NORTHERN REGION AT KOZHIKODE

OP No.04/2015-16

Dated this the 4th Day of September, 2015

O R D E R

Case in brief:-

The Petitioner Sri.Shamsudheen (Con. No. 16941) Ominous P.O., Malappuram under the jurisdiction area of Electrical Section, Edavannappara has submitted a petition in the CGRF on 18.04.2015 to cancel the bill dated 28.03.2015 for Rs.40,869/-. According to the petitioner he has remitted all the bills regularly and demand of an arrear of Rs.40,869 outstanding for payment is not correct. The petitioner is running a cool bar in the premises from 2012. He has submitted an application to enhance the load in 2012. The petitioner was issued a bill for Rs.20,000/- on the ground that the load in his premises has exceeded which was revised by the Deputy Chief Engineer to Rs. 10,000/- on filing an objection. The penalty assessment is from 2012 for unauthorized load. The petitioner has filed a complaint in the matter before the CDRF, Malappuram but as the Supreme Court has passed a judgment starting that consumer courts are not having jurisdiction to decide these matters the petition is filed before the CGRF the appropriate forum for the subject grievance to cancel the demand for Rs. 40,869/- or such other relief as deemed fit and proper to grant.

Version by the respondent:-

The electric connection to the premises of the petitioner hearing Con. No. 16941 was effected on 24.6.2005 for a connected load of 240 watts and registered in the name of Sri. Moideen kutty. The tariff assigned was 7-B which was the appropriate tariff for the purpose and connected load at the time of effecting the electric connection. During a surprise inspection of division squad conducted on 28.3.2009 an unauthorized additional load of 865 watts was detected. The petitioner was advised to regularize the unauthorized load, but the same was not initiated by the consumer even at the time of issuing short assessment bill on 10.01.2013. The petitioner was given the penal assessment bill and he has not filed any appeal petition under section 127 of Electricity Amendment Act 2007.

In another inspection conducted by the division squad on 25.01.2014 an unauthorized additional load of 1000 watts was detected and a penal bill was issued in this regard. The petitioner has filed an appeal petition upon this penal assessment. After conducting a hearing the penal assessment was revised for six months upon the contention of the petitioner that he was using the unauthorized load only for six months. The final assessment was revised for an amount of Rs.5,400/- and was remitted by the petitioner vide Rt. No. 637674 on 18.6.2014 as per order of the Deputy Chief Engineer, Electrical Circle, . The Petitioner has regularized the load of his premises on 21.06.2014 and the present registered load of the consumer is 1800 watts.

The first hearing was conducted on 21.07.2015. The case was adjourned for a Second hearing on 7.8.2015 and directed the petitioner to produce the rent agreement and the respondent to submit a detailed split up statement of the demand raised to the petitioner vide the disputed bill dated 28.03.2015. These documents were furnished in the second hearing.

Observations and discussion:-

The first point to be discussed is the maintainability of the subject complaint by the petitioner in the CGRF. Here the dispute is regarding the time limit and hence the case is maintainable.

The petitioner has furnished a rent agreement with the registered owner of the Con.No.16941. Hence the forum admitted that the petitioner is the tenant and lawful occupier of the subject premises. From the version submitted by the respondent, the deliberations during the two hearings and the petition the forum observed as follows. The petitioner was given a penal assessment for unauthorized additional load detected in the inspection on 28.3.2009. The short assessment of the above and continuous penalization from 5/2009 to 3/2011 for an amount of Rs.36,490/- is calculated in the split up statement. Therefore the short assessment for inspection dated 28.3.2009 and penal assessment for not regularizing the unauthorized additional load from 3/2009 to 3/2011 is demanded as arrear in the bill dated

28.03.2015.

Meanwhile in another inspection on 25.01.2014 the petitioner was penalized for unauthorized additional load. The petitioner had filed the objection to the appellate authority. The appellate authority has conducted the hearing, and revised the demand in the final assessment. The petitioner has remitted the final assessment of Rs.5,400/- on 18.6.2014 and regularized the additional load as on 21.6.2014.

The penal assessment was first made on the inspection dated 28.3.2009. Short assessment of the same on 10.01.2013 not admissible in accordance with section 56 (2) of Electricity Act 2003. (Therefore the arrear assessment of Rs.36,433/- in bill dated 28.03.2015 shall be cancelled since the arrear short assessment was not demanded in compliance to section 56 of Electricity Act 2003. Within 2 years from the first assessment of the arrears was not shown in any of the subsequent bills).

The balance amount of Rs.4,456/- (40889-36433) in the bill dated 28.03.2015 is the regular bill of the petitioner for consumption of 514 units of electricity and the licensee is eligible to claim the remittance of the same.

Orders:-

1) The bill dated 28.03.2015 for Rs.40,869/- issued to Con. No. 16941 is hereby set aside.

2) The respondents are directed to revise the demand limiting the consumption of electricity to 514 units for the month as per the meter reading available.

Sd/- Mini.P.Nayar Chairperson

G.Radhakrishnan Nair - Member –Sd/-

K.K.Kunhikrishnan - Member –Sd/-