Landlord liable for 6.6L power bill, not tenant: Ombudsman

Chennai: An electricity consumer is liable to pay arrears in power bills even if the discom raises the demand after much delay and irrespective of whether the premises was occupied by a tenant during the faulty assessment period, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Ombudsman has ruled.

The ombudsman made the ruling while disposing of an appeal filed by Kolathur-based consumer P Kannan against the demand of 6.64 lakh raised by TNPDCL for his industrial service for wrong assessment for a particular period when the premises was occupied by a tenant. The ombudsman has held that since he continued to be a registered consumer and the agreement remained in force, he is legally liable to pay the arrears.