Chandigarh, September 24
In an unprecedented order, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), Panchkula to decide a legal notice claiming 24*7 uninterrupted power supply and to pay damages of Rs 25 lakh and pass a speaking order within one month.
The orders were passed by Justice Jaishree Thakur in a petition filed by M/s Ved Shanti Biomass Energy Fuels, a MSME unit in Ambala District, alleging constant breakages in the supply of electricity by UHBVN. Pankaj Chandgothia, counsel for the petitioners, contended the electricity is being supplied to the unit from an old industrial feeder located more than 35 km away from the unit, due to which there are interruptions of upto eight hours almost every other day. The concerned SDO had also submitted a report admitting the disruptions. Chandgothia submitted that due to the staggered electric supply, the industrial unit was unable to run smoothly resulting in immense losses.
The petitioners were charged, in addition to the actual consumption charges, fixed charges of Rs 55,000 per month according to the sanctioned load. Chandgothia said that the concept of taking fixed charges as per the sanctioned load, by itself assures round-the-clock electricity supply. In the absence of regular and un-interrupted electricity supply, the Board should have no right to take fixed charges for sanctioned load because this would mean that the UHBVN is to be paid even if there is no electricity supply.
The petitioners repeatedly requested UHBVN to regularize the electric supply, but no effective measures were taken. To save itself from further losses, the petitioners in March 2019 requested UHBVN to reduce the sanctioned load from 350 KW to 150 KW and shift the supply line to a feeder within 10 km of their unit. The reduction in load was done by UHBVN after a delay of more than one year in May, 2020 but the connection was still not shifted to within 10 km.
Finally, the petitioners sent a legal notice to UHBVN authorities demanding Rs 25 lakh as token damages for causing harassment and losses to the petitioners by the wrongful, biased and arbitrary decisions of the UHBVN Officials. The notice also asked to fix responsibility of UHBVN officers for delay in reduction of load and giving an electricity connection which is prone to disruptions due to long distance and week feeder line. The legal notice further demanded an electricity connection from a feeder within 10 kms of its premises to ensure 24 X 7 uninterrupted power supply and to waive-off all the fixed charges and minimum guarantee charges, while restoring the electric connection.
