ELECTRICITY BILL DISPUTE COMPLAINT
Complaint about an electricity bill
Date: __________, at __________
__________
To: __________, __________
From: __________, __________ (email __________, telephone __________)
Subject: __________
Sir or Madam,
- 1. What this is. __________
- 2. My connection. I am the consumer on __________, supplied by __________.
- 3. The bill. I dispute __________, which shows __________ payable. The amount I dispute is __________.
- 4. Why it is wrong. __________ __________
- 5. What I have already done. __________
- 6. What I require. __________ Please also tell me in writing what you have done and the name of the officer handling this, and do not disconnect my supply for the disputed amount while this complaint is pending, as the electricity law protects a consumer who disputes a bill in the way it provides.
- 7. If it is not put right. If the bill is not corrected, I will take the matter to the next forum the electricity law provides, and I may also approach the District Consumer Commission, and I will ask for a refund, interest, compensation and costs. This letter does not waive any of my rights.
ENCLOSURES
__________
LEGAL BASIS
Punjab and Chandigarh: The Electricity Act, 2003 requires every distribution licensee to set up a forum for redressal of consumer grievances (section 42(5)) and provides for an Electricity Ombudsman to hear a consumer who is not satisfied with the forum's order (section 42(6)). The rules that govern how a complaint is made to the forum and the Ombudsman, the time limits and any amount to be deposited are made by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission for the licensee's area and are for the consumer to confirm in the licensee's current notice. The Act also limits disconnection for non-payment where the consumer pays under protest or deposits as the Act provides (section 56). A licensee's service to a consumer may also be a service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. No fee is payable on this letter.
PERSONAL DATA NOTICE
This notice is given under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
The purpose of collecting the personal data in this document is to identify the consumer, record the bill and the dispute about it, and let the electricity licensee, its Forum or the Ombudsman look into it and reply.
The record will be held by __________ and may be shared with the electricity licensee and its officers, the Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum, the Electricity Ombudsman, the sender's advocate, and any Commission or court that hears the matter.
If the matter does not proceed, the personal data will be retained for 90 days and then erased. If the matter proceeds, the record will be retained for the transaction or authority matter plus 12 months, except where a statute requires a longer named retention period.
A person named in this document may request correction or erasure where the purpose has ended, withdraw consent for future consent-based processing, or raise a grievance by writing to __________. The record-holder should acknowledge and reply within 30 days.
Data minimisation: this document does not collect a full Aadhaar number, an Aadhaar-card copy, a password or bank credentials.
Personal-data instruction: __________.
SIGNATURE
______________________________
Signature
Consumer: __________
Place: ____________________
Date: ____________________