Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) was established by State Government under Section 17 of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 1998 (ERC Act,1998) (14 of 1998). The ERC Act, 1998 was replaced by the Electricity Act, 2003 ( 36 of 2003) . As per the first proviso of Section 81 of the Electricity Act,2003, State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) established under Secti.
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The Commission through Supply Code and Standard of Performance Regulations, 2021 has stipulated timelines for performing various consumer-related activities by distribution licensees and compensation to be paid to the consumer for the delay in performing such activities. SoP for some of the activities are as below:
| Sr. No. | Activity/Event | Standard Timelines | Compensation Payble |
| Provision of Supply | |||
| 1 | Connection from existing Network | Metro Area – 7 days | |
Urban Area – 15 days
In line with the Electricity Act, 2003 and as per Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum and Electricity Ombudsman) Regulations, 2020, the following are the step by step legal remedies available to the electricity consumers to redress their grievances:-
Web-based portal of Distribution Licensee:
Consumers can register their complaints electronically/digitally through SMS, online registration, web-chat facility and mobile application (in person or through toll free telephone numbers) on web based portal of distribution licensee, which shall be integrated with the complaint handling system through the Consumer Call Centres
| Name of Distribution Licensee | Web - Portal for Complaint |
| Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. | MSEDCL Web Portal |
| Tata Power Company Ltd | TPC Web Portal |
| Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited | AEML Web Portal |
| BEST Undertaking | BEST Web Portal |
| Mindspace Business Parks Private Limited | MBPPL Web Portal |
| Gigaplex Estate Private Limited | GEPL Web Portal |
| Nidar Utilities Panvel LLP (NUP LLP) | NUP Web Portal |
| Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation-SEZ Nagpur | MADC Web Portal |
| Laxmipati Balaji Supply Chain Management Ltd. -SEZ Panvel | LBSCML Web Portal |
| KRC Infrastructure & Project PVT Ltd - Pune | KRCIPPVT Web Portal |
| Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust - SEZ Raigadh | JNPT Web Portal |
| EON Kharadi Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.-SEZ | EONKIP Web Portal |
Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (Forum)
The Complainant may approach the Forum, if the complaint is closed on the abovesaid web based portal without the consent or satisfaction of the Complainant or after expiry of 3 days (for complaints related to non-supply, connection, re-connection or disconnection of supply) or 15 days (for all other complaints) from the date of registration of complaint, whichever is earlier.
However, the Consumer may also directly approach the Forum, even if no complaint has been registered on the web portal.
As per the notified CGRF & EO Regulations, 2020, there are total 18 CGRFs in the State of Maharashtra.
Electricity Ombudsman
Any Complainant, who is aggrieved by the non-redressal of his Grievance by the abovesaid Forum, may, either directly or through his duly authorised representative, make a representation for redressal of his Grievance to the Electricity Ombudsman within sixty (60) days from the date of the Order of the Forum.
There are two Electricity Ombudsman in Maharashtra State as follows:
Electricity Ombudsman (Mumbai) for Mumbai, Mumbai Suburbs, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangali, Satara, Pune, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar and Nandurbar Districts, and
Electricity Ombudsman (Nagpur) for Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Yeotmal, Washim, Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Chandarapur, Gondia, Latur, Beed, Nanded, Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Jalna, Parbhani and Hingoli district.
Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission
For non-compliance of the Forum’s Order and/or Electricity Ombudsman’s orders by distribution licensee, the consumer can approach the Commission under Section 142 and 146 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
Details of the Electricity Ombudsmans in the Maharashtra State:
| Name of Electricity Ombudsman | Details | Web - Portal for online Representation |
| Mumbai | Details of the EO Mumbai Office | EO Mumbai Portal |
| Nagpur | Details of the EO Nagpur Office | EO NGP Portal |
Details of the CGRFs in the Maharashtra State:
| Name of Distribution Licensee | Details |
| Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. | Details of the CGRFs |
| Tata Power Company Ltd | Details of the CGRF |
| Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited | Details of the CGRF |
| BEST Undertaking | Details of the CGRF |
| Mindspace Business Parks Private Limited | Details of the CGRF |
| Gigaplex Estate Private Limited | Details of the CGRF |
| Nidar Utilities Panvel LLP | Details of the CGRF |
| KRC Infrastructure & Project PVT Ltd - Pune | Details of the CGRF |
| Laxmipati Balaji Supply Chain Management Ltd. -SEZ Panvel | Details of the CGRF |
| Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation-SEZ Nagpur | Details of the CGRF |
| Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust - SEZ Raigadh | Details of the CGRF |
| EON Kharadi Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.-SEZ | Details of the CGRF |
The Section 59 of the Electricity Act, 2003 mandates every licensee to furnish the information to the Commission regarding level of performance achieved, number of cases in which compensation was made and aggregate amount of the Compensation and the Commission shall arrange the said information for publication.
The Commission through MERC (Electricity Supply Code and Standards of Performance of Distribution Licensees including Power Quality), Regulations, 2021 has set certain minimum standard of service that a Distribution Licensee shall achieve and maintain regarding power supply, Power Quality, metering, Complaints handling, reliability indices, etc.
According to Regulation 27 of the said Regulations, the Distribution Licensees shall submit information (SoP Data) stipulated under Section 59 to the Commission on Quarterly basis and put up such information on the internet website of the Distribution Licensee, within 30 days from the end of the quarter.
To view Licensee wise SoP dataClick Here
