India drafts electricity consumers’ rights

NEW DELHI: The union power ministry has drafted ‘Electricity Consumers’ Rights,’ that calls for round-the-clock supply to consumers across the country.

According to Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, “The distribution licensee shall supply 24X7 power to all consumers. However, the commission may specify lower hours of supply for some categories of consumers like agriculture.”

These draft rules have been circulated for seeking comments and will be finalised post receiving views and suggestions.

According to a union power ministry statement on Wednesday, the main features include, “Reliability of service: SERCs (state electricity regulatory commissions) to fix average number and duration of outages per consumer per year for DISCOMs.”