Billing, retrospective tariffs: Gurgaon residents to raise concerns with power regulator

Gurgaon residents are preparing to voice their concerns to the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) over billing issues and retrospective tariffs. The Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) representing group housing societies along the Dwarka Expressway are scheduled to present their grievances to HERC, following a suo motu inquiry by the regulator into non-compliance with regulations and the delayed rollout of a new billing system.

At the heart of the matter is the Unified Billing System (UBS), which has been plagued by operational flaws and fundamental design issues. RWAs argue that the billing software is not effectively addressing the root problems, instead shifting administrative failures onto residents. The existing Single Point Supply (SPS) framework allows DHBVN, the discom, to supply bulk electricity to a housing society through a single primary meter, while the residents (RWA or developer) are responsible for maintaining the internal distribution network and billing individual sub-meters.

A major concern is the inconsistency between domestic supply (DS) tariffs for residential units and non-domestic supply (NDS) or commercial tariffs applied to common amenities like clubs, community halls, and retail outlets. RWAs claim that DHBVN has been issuing retrospective commercial bills for up to five years, despite societies formally declaring their load in approved electrical plans.

Several residents have voiced doubts about the effectiveness of the Unified Billing Software, with no society in Gurgaon having successfully transitioned to the new system. RWAs also seek relief from retrospective tariffs and demand that DHBVN conduct trial runs, provide a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP), and offer technical training before making software adoption mandatory.