Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission , Government of Mizoram, India

NO.H.11019/26/10-JERC

JOINT ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION

FOR MANIPUR AND MIZORAM

AIZAWL : : : MIZORAM

D-31, M.G.Road, Upper Khatla

Aizawl,Mizoram-796001

Tel. No. : 0389-2310623

Fax: 0389-2301299

Website: www.jerc.mizoram.gov.in

Email: jerc.mm@gmail.com

Dated Aizawl, the 13^th December, 2011

MINUTES OF THE 7^th MEETING OF THE STATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: MANIPUR

Venue : Conference Hall of State Guest House, Imphal

Date & Time : Thursday, 24^th November, 2011

List of the Members & Invitees Present appended.

The 7^th Meeting of the State Advisory Committee (SAC) for the State of Manipur was held on 24^th November, 2011 at the Conference Hall of State Guest House, Imphal. After a brief introductory speech, Mr. C. Hmingthanzuala, IAS(Retd.), Chairperson, JERC for M&M and Chairman, SAC Manipur drew the attention of the Members to the Agenda Note already circulated earlier and initiated agenda-wise discussion.

Agenda 1. Confirmation of the Minutes of the 6^th SAC Meeting held on 29^th June, 2011

After obtaining the nod of the Members present, the Chairman declared the Minutes of the 6^th Meeting of the SAC as confirmed.

The SAC Members wanted to review first the action taken/ progress made/ targets achieved on the recommendations made in the previous meeting before taking up the next agenda item for discussion. Accordingly, the Chairman requested the Electricity Department, to elaborate the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the recommendations made in the previous meeting that was placed before the SAC.

Referring to the one page note on the ATR furnished by the Department, Shri Arun Irengbam, Senior Journalist, AMWJU remarked that the excuse given by the Department for not achieving the desired targets is not convincing and therefore not satisfactory. Shri E. Dolendro Singh, Advisor, AMPCA, Shri Chaothoi Singh, President, MIU and Shri S. Rishikumar Singh, President, AMEA, also expressed similar views and insisted that meaningful progress is required to be made by all means in the midst of blockades, bandhs and strikes which are basically political issues prevailing in the State round the year.

Dr. L. Sadananda Singh, General Secretary, SCS, wanted the Department to see if the developmental works could be taken up without security coverage.

The Chief Engineer (Power) elaborated the reasons attributing to the delay in making significant progress over the last five months, and maintained that the Department has been making all out efforts amidst all odds due to economy blockades, to make progress for commissioning the 132 KV s/s at Jiribam and restringing of the Leimatak Jiribam 132 Line in another 2/3 months time with the help of local people and the implementing agency.

Agenda 2. Survey & Investigation of the Consumers

Initiating discussion on the second Agenda, the Chairman briefly explained about the substantial consumption of energy in an unauthorized manner leading to huge AT & C loss in the State and also emphasized the need for identification of the unauthorized consumers and their regularization without much delay. Justifying the reason for inclusion of the item in the list of Agenda, the Chairman informed the Committee that the Department needs to conduct on priority a detailed survey and investigation of the consumers throughout the State in order to collect vital information and data about the status of consumers, which are the pre-requisites for mass regularization of the unauthorized consumers that would enable the Department to reduce the loss rate and also the status of meters, connected load and contract demand etc to arrive at correct billing to the consumers in terms of both fixed and energy charges as per the Tariff Order.

Shri H. Bihari Singh, Member, JERC pointed out that the number of unauthorized consumers in the State of Manipur is more than 40 p.c. of the total number of consumers. Many of them have been enjoying free energy for years. The Department has hardly disconnected or regularized it. And it has caused high T&D losses. Therefore, the Member emphatically stated that the Department terribly failed to make headway towards this critical front.

Shri N. Sarat Singh, Chief Engineer (Power) cited the shortage of staffs as the main reason behind Department’s failure to perform and make progress in all fronts. He informed the Committee that over the last 20 years or so, the number of staffs in the Department has decreased enormously due to either large scale retirement or untimely death and ban on fresh appointment. He stated that as on date, more than 2000 posts of different categories are lying vacant.

Dr. L. Sadananda Singh, wanted to know the full text of the initiatives of the Department for filling of the vacant posts as well as the decision of the Government in this regard. However, he felt that the Government may not be seeing things with the same eye but it has become imperative and therefore suggested that the Government be approached by the SAC with a concrete proposal.

The Member, JERC also felt that the survey & investigation is a temporary measure and the Government may have other considerations in making regular appointments and therefore, preferred outsourcing for this work. The Member also pointed out the need to settle the issue of the energy already consumed by unauthorized consumers before they are regularized. For this purpose he suggested to assess revenue for at least one year for one time realization or otherwise and obtain the approval of the Government. Regulation 10.3 of JERC (M&M) (Electricity Supply Code) Regulation, 2010 provides that no sum due from any consumers shall be recoverable after a period of two years unless it has been shown continuously as recoverable as arrears of the charges for electricity supplied.

The Member further suggested that the Department may float tender through wide publicity for voluntary declaration of unauthorized consumers to avoid disconnection. If necessary, an incentive scheme may also be formulated.

Shri S. Rishikumar Singh suggested that the SAC may fix specific targets to be achieved within a stipulated time frame and further sought for advice of the Commission on the course of action being initiated when resolutions & recommendations in the meeting carry no meaning.

Shri Rakesh Meihoubam, Director, Human Rights Law Network, felt that the Department has no strong will to translate its responsibilities into reality.

Shri Basantakumar Wareppa, Programme Executive, HRA and Shri P. Arunkumar Singh, President, MCU, suggested that the prescribed forms may be made available on the spot while detecting and regularizing the un-authorised consumers and also felt that Revenue Collection drive with Security force is not advisable.

Mr. Arun Irengbam welcomed the approach of the Commission and gave his views in favour of outsourcing the Survey & Investigation in case the Government decides otherwise.

Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei, Associate Professor, MIMS, MU, stated that the regular & ideal consumers should not be deprived of their rights and opportunities and therefore, stressed the need for proper and methodical Human Resources Planning. Dr. Meitei therefore, preferred that the Department carries out studies on the activities for which more manpower are required, and also the duration or time period of the activity. The Department may also examine whether engagement of a third party or outsourcing for a temporary period would address the issues or otherwise, and while doing so, the Department may keep an eye on the existing staffs of other Divisions also and make a comparision among the divisions taking into consideration both the nature and the volume of the work. Thus, after visualizing the facts which are assessed by the Department based on fair & positive approach, a concrete proposal may be prepared for submission to the Government for appreciation.

The Chief Engineer (Power) noted down the points carefully and assured that the requisite exercise would be done by the Department without further delay so that it can come out with what the Committee desired.

Agenda 3. Billing & Billing Efficiency

The Chairman, while taking up the 3^rd Agenda for discussion by the Members, reiterated that billing needs to be drastically improved by the Department so that revenue collection also correspondingly increases. The Chairman also expressed concern over the poor billing which has always an adverse impact on the Billing efficiency as well as the loss reduction process particularly at a time when all the utilities of other States are aiming at a high billing efficiency and a very low loss rate.

The Chief Engineer (Power) repeated the same old story and made a fervent appeal to the Committee to recommend the proposal of the Department for filling up of the vacant posts on regular basis.

Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei shared his experience in use of IT (paper less management) in the revenue collection process in similar sectors and wanted the Department to work out a modality with which the process is made easy and methodical and at the same time, manpower requirement is also minimized. Dr. Meitei also suggested if private parties can be attracted or franchisees may be introduced on piece meal basis to the Power Sector.

Shri Rakesh Meihoubam informed the Committee that Billing is irregular and meters are never read.

Shri E. Dolendro Singh also stated that there is no proper billing by the Department. Bills are prepared once in several months and because of accumulation of the bill amount, the consumers are unable to pay the bills timely. However, it is observed that the Department does not make any attempt so far to streamline the system and serve the bill within a stipulated time and instead it puts a tag on the consumers as defaulters and launches Revenue Collection drive against these consumers with the help of security personnel. He therefore opined that the Government shall definitely consider and mobilize resources for employment/ engagement of the requisite staffs in the Department provided the proposal is made with enough justification and reasoning and what is essential on top of every initiatives is the sincerity on the part of the Department.

Shri H. Bihari Singh, Member, JERC expressed the view that the consumers must have expected electricity bill at least once in two months. However, it has been observed that bills are not served for several months, billings are not correct, meters are not timely checked and read causing grievous inconvenience to the consumers.

Dr. L. Sadananda Singh, wanted to know from the Chief Engineer (Power) who is hopeful of a miraculous improvement in consumers service including revenue realization within a short period after the pre-paid meters are installed, the number of pre-paid meters installed so far out of the total of about 20,000 procurred during the early part of this year. Blaming on the non conducive atmosphere prevailing in the State, the Chief Engineer (Power) informed the Committee that installation of the pre-paid meters has just begun.

Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei suggested that the SAC may consider it justified to take up Human Resources Management of the Department because of lack of which the Department is reportedly suffering, as a complete Agenda for a meeting and whatever emanated from the discussion may be recommended to the authority for timely action.

Giving nod to the suggestion of the Members, the Chairman requested the Members to send proposal for inclusion in the list of Agenda for the ensuing meeting so that important points are not left out.

Agenda 4. Protection of Consumers Interest

Initiating the discussion on the last item, the Chairman explained about the Grievance Redressal Mechanism that has been put in place for the convenience of the consumers in the State. The Chairman was however reluctant to buy the views of the Department that no complaint was received by it during the last several months, and therefore, expressed concern over the way the Department is dealing with issues of the consumers who may like to lodge complaints against poor power supply, irregular billing, and less customer care service etc. that prevail unabated in the State.

Taking part in the discussion, Shri Rakesh Meihoubam informed the Committee that the Department neither discharges its duties as required by the “Standard of Performance” and “Citizens Charter” Regulations etc. of the Commission nor is prepared to comply with the guidelines and stipulations laid down in the regulations. The Department does not have any complain room. No one among the general Staffs of the Department, perhaps knows about the Redressal Forum or Cell and the standard form etc. and no one is even ready to accept the complaints – Shri Rakesh added with great regret.

Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei wanted that the telephone number of the Complain Room is published intermittently in the consumers interest.

Shri Arun Irengbam emphasized the need for making Complain Rooms easily accessible to all and also stated that the Department needs to ensure that someone, who can create consumer-friendly atmosphere and educate the consumer, is always present in the Complain Room.

Endorsing the views of the Members, the Chairman expressed the desire that the Department activates the Redressal Cells and the Forum without further delay and treats the Consumers properly and also emphasized the need for proper and wide publicity of the Citizens Charter to further Consumers awareness campaign for the Redressal Mechanism.

Agenda 5. Miscellaneous Item

With the permission of the Chair, Shri S. Chaothoi Singh took up the proposal on Hydro Power Development in the State for discussion in the Meeting and wanted the Department to pay adequate attention on it in the larger interest of the State.

Observations of the Committee

1. Maximum loss occurs due to large scale unauthorized consumption of energy which is unaccounted.

2. Identification of the unauthorized consumers through detailed Survey & Investigation is urgently needed in order to take follow-up actions in the current working season.

3. The Detailed Survey & Investigation also has its focus on ascertaining the status of meters, connected load, contract demand, proper use of energy and status of internal electrifications of the consumers.

4. Billing is very irregular and also incorrect because meters are not read and therefore, it causes a lot of inconveniences to the consumers. Hence, billing efficiency is truly negligible.

5. The Distribution side, involving reliable power supply to consumers, metering, billing and revenue collection, is apparently a total failure.

6. Consumers care is again far below expectations even when the mechanism is said to be in place. Numbers of Complain Rooms are not adequate and not manned properly. Internal Grievances Redressal cells and Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum are not yet fully functional. Aggrieved Consumers coming to the Department are not properly guided and treated.

7. Reportedly, the ultimate reason attributing to such sorry-state of affair of the power sector, has been the acute shortage of staffs/ staff deficient in the Department.

Recommendations

1. The Department shall make a well-prepared proposal to the Government for outsourcing the manpower requirement for Survey & Investigation and settlement of the assessed revenue for one year from the unauthorized consumers within a specific time frame. Regularization of unauthorized consumers shall be started immediately with the available staff. Wide publicity for voluntary declaration shall be made.

2. Being a Commercial Unit, the Department shall not treat “Billing” as an optional. Therefore, the service of the existing staffs, irrespective of grade and nature of the assigned duties shall be utilized in the Commercial section through a re-organisation (if necessary at the Government level), till a final decision on filling up of vacant posts or outsourcing is taken by the Government, so that work does not suffer.

3. The Department shall activate the Internal Grievance Redressal Cells (Complain Rooms) and the Consumers Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF) within a shortest possible time, and treat the aggrieved consumers properly as per Regulations.

4. Wide publicity on Citizens Charter, Consumer Grievances Redressal Mechanism and Standard of Performance shall be done once again through print & electronic media. Consumers Awareness Campaign shall also be continued side by side, to motivate the consumers.

5. The Members of the SAC shall send proposal for inclusion in the list of Agenda so that important points pertaining to local conditions are not left out of discussion in the future meetings.

6. The Department shall furnish to the Commission the Action Taken Report on the recommendations of the Committee well in time so that, the same can be circulated to the Members alongwith the Meeting Notice of the next meeting.

Before conclusion, the Chairman thanked all the Members of the Committee once again for their patient hearing and sincere application of mind to the issues of the Power Sector in the State.

Meeting ended at 2:30 pm with a vote of thanks to the Chair.

Sd/- C. HMINGTHANZUALA

Chairman

State Advisory Committee

Manipur

H.11019/26/10-JERC : Dated Aizawl, the 13^th December, 2011.

Copy to:

PS to Hon’ble Minister, (Power), Govt. of Manipur, Imphal for kind information of the Hon’ble Minister.
PPS to Chief Secretary, Govt. of Manipur, Imphal for kind information of the Chief Secretary.
PS to Principal Secretary (Power), Govt. of Manipur for information and necessary action of the Principal Secretary.
All Members/Special Invitees of the State Advisory Committee of Manipur for kind information and necessary action.
Guard File.

(A. CHHAWNMAWIA)

Secretary

List of Members and Invitees Present in the 7^th Meeting of the State Advisory Committee for the State of Maniupur held on 24^th November, 2011, Imphal.