Chennai, Tiruchy EB pulled up for not replacing faulty meters

Tangedco’s chief financial controller has pulled up Chennai and Tiruchy distribution regions officials for a huge backlog in the replacement of defective meters for the low-tension consumers which results in the loss of revenue for the utility.

According to Tangedco’s latest data, about 21,800 defective single and three-phase meters have to be replaced across the state as of January 5 this year. Of the total defective meters, 13,840 are single-phase and 7,994 are three-phase meters that need to be replaced across eight distribution regions in the state. Over 2,800 meters were reported defective in the last one to three months and are yet to be replaced.

As per service standards notified by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission, Tangedco should replace the meter within 30 days if it received a complaint from the consumer or it found the meter is defective or burnt.

“It is regretted to state that in spite of repeated instructions through the mail and during review by the CMD, the defective meters to be replaced continue to be very high particularly in the Chennai and Tiruchy regions. These circles shall give priority to this work and arrange to replace the defective meters, immediately as the consumption by the consumer in urban areas will be generally high and the longer duration to replace a defective meter may lead to consumer grievances too,” the CFC stated in the letter to the chief engineers of the distribution regions.

The CFC noted that the meter is the only device that is available to measure the sale made by Tangedco based on which the amount due from consumer could be assessed. “Hence the defective meters have to be replaced without any undue delay to avoid unnecessary disputes by the consumers,” the letter added.