Ex-spl commissioner of Delhi police made DERC ombudsman

Delhis power regulator DERC has appointed Delhi Polices former Special Commissioner Pardeep Kumar Bhardwaj as its ombudsman to examine grievances of the citys electricity consumers. A 1987-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, Bhardwaj had earlier held several prestigious posts in the central government and had retired as a special commissioner of Delhi Police.

Delhi's power regulator DERC has appointed Delhi Police’s former Special Commissioner Pardeep Kumar Bhardwaj as its ombudsman to examine grievances of the city’s electricity consumers. A 1987-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, Bhardwaj had earlier held several prestigious posts in the central government and had retired as a special commissioner of Delhi Police. He was administered the oath of office by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission Chairman Justice (Retd) Shabihul Hasnain earlier this week, said a DERC statement.

The institution of the Electricity Ombudsman was established by the Commission under the provisions of Sections 42(5) and 42(6) of the Electricity Act, 2003 and the DERC (Forum for redressal of grievances of the consumers and ombudsman) Regulations, 2018.

Four consumer grievances redressal forum (CGRF), one each for consumers of discoms BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL), BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL), Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have been functioning since 2004.

Any aggrieved electricity consumer may approach the appropriate forum seeking redressal of his grievance related to metering, billing, grant of a new connection, disconnection, reconnection, change of name of the registered consumer.

But these forums cannot be moved in matters related to the unauthorised use or theft of electricity and meter tampering among others.

The consumers who are not satisfied with the decision of the CGRF can approach the DERC ombudsman, who acts as an appellate authority over the CGRF, the statement said.

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