Tangedco to serve notice to people with more than one connection

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission has directed the Tangedco to serve notice to the individual house owners having more than one domestic service connection.

"Tangedco has submitted that each house/residence/premise shall normally be given only one service connection unless it is an apartment complex. However, additional connection can be permitted only if it is rented or leased out to different families and occupies a separate portion. Adequate proof like a rental agreement or lease deed etc may be produced. For additional connection bi-monthly fixed charges of Rs.450 will be charged," the tariff order said.

Pointing out that during the public hearing, many stakeholders expressed anguish that many multi floors buildings are partitioned on each floor between siblings or father-son or any other combination of the same family without the scope of the rental agreement within families, the commission said that in such cases where additional connections were obtained with proper physical segregation, it is not reasonable to impose fixed charges of Rs.450. “Therefore, the commission is of the view that wherever the additional connection is effected with due fulfilment of the provisions of TN Electricity Distribution Code 2004, for same families having the separate family cards, the fixed charges need not be imposed.

A senior Tangedco official said that they came out with the proposal to act against those domestic consumers who are misusing the tariff. “Some consumers have taken additional service connections to make use of 100 free units and to avoid the higher tariffs. They will be forced to pay additional fixed charges of Rs 450,” the official said, adding that they would give instructions starting Monday to issue notice to such consumers. “The genuine consumers will not be affected. We will insist on the same family consumers to provide separate ration cards and name of service connections should not be on the name of the same person, ” the official added.