Local Forum Meeting at Madikeri, Coorg
CAG in association with the Consumer Rights, Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT) is working on a project “Accelerating Clean Energy Transition By Improving Stakeholder Participation For Electricity Governance In India” in Karnataka. There are five Electricity Supply Companies (ESCOMS] in Karnataka. To reach out to these five ESCOMS, a core group consisting of representatives from consumer groups, civil society organizations and electricity experts in districts was formed. All the activities are being organized in collaboration with these core groups.
CREAT will set up 5 Local Electricity Forum in Karnataka. A local electricity forum is a platform where stakeholders in a specific region or community come together to discuss issues, concerns, and ideas related to the electricity sector. These forums aim to create dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge sharing among various stakeholders, including consumers, civil society organisations. Further, CREAT has set up a Core Group composed of CSOs and electricity experts to support the electricity initiative local electricity forums in the state of Karnataka.
The 3rd Local District Forum meeting was held at Madikeri on 31st July 2024 at Madikeri Town in collaboration with The Codagu Planters Association and Madikeri District Consumer Information Centre.
The meeting was inaugurated by Smt. Anitha Bai, Executive Engineer, Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation, Madikeri Division. She appreciated the Planters Association and CAG, Chennai, for organising the meeting. In her address, she said that Madikeri District has specific climatic conditions such as the regular, heavy rains which places the distribution system under strain. She said that the present load requires 13 sub-stations and at present there are only 2 sub-stations. She mentioned that a detailed proposal was sent to the head office and approval was awaited.
Mr.Y.G.Muralidharan, project based Consultant at CAG, made a detailed presentation on the electricity sector in Karnataka. He explained the historical growth of the sector and the regulatory system in the Centre and the States. Explaining the essentials of the Electricity Act, 2003, he said that after this Act, consumers’ role has widened significantly, with the Act giving ample scope for citizen engagement. He explained the project implemented by CAG and said that electricity consumers have to form local forums to present themselves as one voice, and also to participate in the regulatory process. He said the object of these local forum meetings was to inform and educate consumers about their rights and responsibilities in the electricity sector.
Mr.Muralidharan also said that consumers have to switch to renewable energy (RE) and use energy efficient appliances. On the broader level, consumers have to ask that the regulatory commission direct the licensees to purchase more RE. Mr.Muralidharan also spoke about consumer rights in the energy sector by explaining the various rules and regulations like Standards of Performance, CGRF and the Ombudsman scheme. It was observed that most of the participants were unaware of these regulations. He gave details of the Madikeri District CGRF and the names and phone numbers of the members of the CGRF. Participants mentioned that there was no effort by the licensee to make this public.
Mr.Y.G.Muralidharan, addressing the audience
On behalf of the Codagu Planters Association, Mr.Belliyappa, Secretary, spoke about the problems of the consumers. He said the power supply is erratic and every day there are power cuts throughout the district. The other problems of the consumers that the participants expressed are as follows: -
- No prior intimation about power cuts
- No publicity about CGRF or Ombudsman
- Information about Vidyut Adalats not given
- It takes weeks for the removal of fallen trees on the electric lines.
- Facilities for online payment of bills not working properly
- Consumer Helpline not functioning
- No enough counters for payment of bills
Madikeri district is a forest area with heavy rains during most part of the year. As such falling of trees, landslides etc. are common. The Secretary of the Planters Association said that there is no coordination between the Electricity Company and the Forest Department. This has resulted in most of the problems remaining unresolved. He requested the Executive Engineer (EE) to call for a coordination meeting between consumers, electricity company officials and forest department officials to work out the problems. The EE promised to look into the request.
Participants from the Local Electricity Forum
The meeting decided to form a local committee to work on electricity related issues under the guidance of Shri.Y.G.Muralidharan and Shri. A.A.Chengappa [Secretary of Consumer Information Centre]. Over 35 members participated in the meeting.
Local Forum Meeting at Mandya
The 4th Local Meeting was held at Mandya Town on 3rd August 2024 in collaboration with Mandya District Consumer Information Centre. The meeting was inaugurated by Mr.S.Puttaswamy, Secretary of the Consumer Information Centre. It was presided over by S.N.Gowda, Secretary of Samashti Trust, an NGO. Unfortunately, officials of the electricity distribution company who had agreed to participate, did not arrive. More than 25 members of the public participated in the meeting. The participants included farmers, businessmen, students doing social work etc.
Mr.Y.G.Muralidharan, addressing the audience
Mr.Y.G.Muralidharan explained the purpose of the meeting followed by the consumer grievance system in the electricity sector. He explained the need for the public to look beyond grievances and participate in the regulatory process, particularly while tariffs are set by the KERC. Some of the problems that consumers are facing in the district include the following:
- Billing mistakes
- Improper working of online payment system
- Power cuts without notice
- New connections not given in time
- Irregularity in the supply of bills
- Non-availability of staffs in electricity office
Participants from the meeting
The district consumer information centre requested for more information on the electricity sector and suggested that posters, handbills etc may be produced and distributed. It was mentioned that materials should be in Kannada and not in English. Mr.Muralidharan assured that this will be looked into. At the end of the meeting a Committee was formed to take forward the decisions arrived at the meeting. The meeting was covered in the local print media.