CHENNAI: In a major disappointment to lakhs of domestic electricity consumers, a division bench of the Madras High Court dismissed the case filed against Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) that called the entire power consumption calculation methodology by the authority during the lockdown period unfair.
The petitioner ML Ravi, an advocate, submitted that the field staff of TANGEDCO had failed to note down electricity meter readings of many power consumers due to the lockdown. Hence, it was ordered that such consumers could pay the same charges that they had paid in the previous billing cycle and get the amount adjusted when the readings get recorded in May or June. However, the methodology carried out was "arbitrary and unjust", he added.
He filed a plea at the Madras High Court seeking to restrain TANGEDCO from collecting the four-month bill.
However, during arguments, a division bench comprising justices MM Sundresh and R Hemalatha concurred with the submissions made by TANGEDCO that residents spent several hours staying indoors due to the lockdown that led to the rise in power consumption. It also said that the entire power consumption levy was carried out as per the Tamil Nadu electricity supply code and there was no violation of rules.
Additional advocate general P H Aravind Pandian, appearing for TANGEDCO, said that the bill is generated on a bi-monthly basis and split into equal amounts for the period from January to May.
He explained that the period for which charges were already paid on a previous month consumption basis was deducted from the amount already paid to finally arrive at the balance amount in the May 2020 bill.
The petitioner submitted that the present mode of calculation has affected thousands of consumers using 100 to 500 units every billing cycle who had to shell out more money.
The bench recorded the submissions and reserved its order on the plea on July 8.
However, the division bench rejecting the submissions made by the petitioner dismissed the plea on Wednesday.