Power Cut Compensation: DISCOM Standards of Performance Guide

Your power went out at 11 pm on a Saturday and stayed out till 4 am. The fridge defrosted, the inverter died after 90 minutes, and when supply finally returned a voltage surge fried your geyser circuit. The DISCOM call centre played hold music for 40 minutes and then promised “shortly”. This guide tells you exactly how much money the DISCOM owes you under the Standards of Performance Regulations of your State Electricity Regulatory Commission, plus the parallel route under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 for the burnt geyser.

Most citizens never claim because nobody told them the right was even there. The Standards of Performance (SoP) Regulations of every State Commission set a fixed compensation amount, payable per fault per hour beyond the published service-level agreement. The compensation is automatic in some states, demand-based in others, but always enforceable. This article walks through the law, the math, and the paperwork.

1. Power-cut compensation is governed by Section 57 of the Electricity Act 2003 read with the Standards of Performance Regulations of your State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC).
2. Typical entitlement: Rs 50 to Rs 200 per fault per hour beyond the SLA window (1 hour urban, 4 hours rural for normal interruptions; 4 hours for major faults; varies by state).
3. First step is NOT the State Commission. It is the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF) at your DISCOM. Free. Mandatory. Disposed within 45 days under the SoP rules.
4. If CGRF fails or sleeps past 45 days, escalate to the Electricity Ombudsman of the SERC. Free. Disposed within 90 days.
5. For damaged appliances from voltage spikes on restoration, file in parallel under Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 at the District Consumer Commission. Cite IS 12360 voltage tolerance and Section 57 SoP read together.
6. Keep the complaint number the DISCOM call centre gives you. Without it, the SoP clock cannot be proved. If they refuse to give one, send a written complaint by email and screenshot the auto-acknowledgement.

It was a Saturday in late June. Delhi was 44 degrees, and the family had finally cooled down to sleep at 11 pm when the lights went out. The BSES Rajdhani helpline put me on hold, the WhatsApp bot replied “Restoration ETA: shortly”, and the inverter beeped its low-battery alarm at 12:30 am. Supply returned at 3:55 am, and within ten seconds the geyser tripped the MCB. The control card was burnt. The repair quote the next day was Rs 4,200.

Two months later I had Rs 600 from BSES under SoP, plus Rs 4,200 and Rs 2,000 litigation cost from the District Consumer Commission, after a single hearing. The CGRF complaint took 12 days. The Consumer case took 4 months. The first step that unlocked everything was the call-centre complaint number from that night.

Three layers of law govern power-cut compensation in India.

1. Electricity Act 2003: Section 43 (universal supply obligation), Section 57 (SERC sets Standards of Performance with compensation for breach), Section 79 (CERC jurisdiction), Section 86 (SERC jurisdiction over DISCOMs, the relevant power for SoP), Section 142 (penalty up to Rs 1 lakh plus Rs 6,000 per day for continuing default).
2. State SoP Regulations notified under Section 57: DERC SoP 2017 (Delhi), MERC SoP 2021 (Maharashtra), KERC SoP 2004 amended 2019 (Karnataka), KSERC SoP 2015 (Kerala), UPERC SoP 2019 (UP), TNERC SoP 2004 (Tamil Nadu).
3. Consumer Protection Act 2019 for damaged-appliance recovery: Section 2(11) (deficiency in service), Section 35 (filing at District Consumer Commission).

The CEA (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations 2010 and IS 12360 (BIS Voltage Bands) together set the voltage tolerance. Statutory tolerance is plus or minus 6 percent for low-voltage supply (230 V). A spike beyond this on restoration is per-se deficiency.

Every SERC SoP Regulation has a standard schedule:

• Normal fault restoration: 1 hour urban, 4 hours rural typically. Beyond this, per-hour compensation kicks in.
• Major fault (transformer, cable damage): 8 to 24 hours window, then higher per-hour compensation.
• Grid failure: usually no compensation, but only if formally declared by the Load Despatch Centre.
• Voltage fluctuation outside band: 7 to 15 days to rectify after written complaint, then per-day compensation.

Indicative table for top DISCOMs (verify SERC website for current figure):

• BSES Rajdhani / BSES Yamuna / Tata Power Delhi (DERC SoP 2017): Rs 50/hr after 1-hr urban window; Rs 100/hr after 8-hr major fault window. Cap is 2 months fixed charges.
• Adani Mumbai / Tata Mumbai / MSEDCL (MERC SoP 2021): Rs 50 to Rs 100 per hour beyond SLA.
• BESCOM Karnataka (KERC SoP 2004 amended 2019): Rs 50/hr beyond SLA. CGRF must dispose within 45 days.
• KSEB Kerala (KSERC SoP 2015): Rs 50 to Rs 200 per fault per hour, depending on category.
• KESCo Kanpur (UPERC SoP 2019): Rs 50 to Rs 100/hr beyond SLA, capped at 2 months fixed charges.

The exact figure for your fault is the one printed in the SoP Regulation in force on that date. Always cite the regulation by name and notification date.

Under Section 42(5) of the Electricity Act 2003, every distribution licensee must constitute a Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF). This is the first level of redress and is mandatory before approaching the SERC or Ombudsman.

1. No filing fee. A simple application with consumer number, complaint number from the night of the fault, outage duration, and SoP citation is enough.
2. The CGRF must dispose the matter within 45 days under most SERCs' Forum Regulations.
3. The CGRF's order is binding; non-compliance triggers Section 142 penalty.

If the CGRF dismisses or stays silent past 45 days, approach the Electricity Ombudsman of the SERC. The Ombudsman's order is final at the regulatory tier; further challenge lies only in writ to the High Court.

Voltage outside the permissible band on restoration (or during the outage) can fry your geyser, fridge compressor, AC inverter card, or refrigerator PCB. The legal anchor is twofold:

1. Electricity Act 2003 Section 57 read with the SoP Regulation: voltage maintenance is a Standard of Performance, and breach makes the licensee liable.
2. Consumer Protection Act 2019 Section 2(11) read with Section 35: a voltage spike that damages an appliance is a deficiency in service. File at the District Consumer Commission for the appliance repair/replacement cost plus litigation cost.

Pure SoP compensation under Section 57 is a fixed per-hour figure and does not cover the burnt appliance. The Consumer Commission route grants unliquidated damages: actual repair invoice plus mental harassment plus litigation cost. Cite the IS 12360 voltage band: 230 V plus or minus 6 percent is lawful. Anything beyond, recorded by a certified electrician's clamp meter or the DISCOM's load logger, is breach.

Send this within 7 days of the fault by email and by speed post (RPAD). Keep the postal acknowledgement. The notice creates the paper trail you will need at CGRF.

To,
The Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director,
[BSES Rajdhani Power Limited / Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited /
 Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited / BESCOM / MSEDCL / KSEB / KESCo],
[Registered Address]
[Email: as published on licensee website]

Through: The Nodal Officer, Consumer Grievances, [Zonal Office]

Subject: Demand for compensation under Section 57 of the Electricity Act 2003
read with [name of State SoP Regulation, year]
Consumer Number: [your CA number]
Complaint Number: [the ticket number from helpline call on night of fault]
Date and duration of fault: [DD-MM-YYYY, HH:MM to HH:MM, total N hours]
Address: [full service address as on bill]

Sir / Madam,

I am the registered consumer at the above address holding consumer
number [XXXX]. On the night of [date], electricity supply at my premises
was interrupted at [HH:MM] and was restored at [HH:MM], a total
interruption of [N] hours [M] minutes. The complaint registered on the
24x7 helpline carries reference number [XXXX].

Under Schedule [II / I] of the [State SoP Regulation, year], the
licensee is required to restore supply within [1 / 4 / 8] hours of a
[normal / major] fault. The duration of [N] hours [M] minutes exceeds
this Standard of Performance by [X] hours.

I therefore demand compensation of Rs [rate] per hour for [X] hours of
delay, totalling Rs [amount].

Additionally, on restoration at [time], a voltage surge damaged the
[appliance] at my premises. The repair / replacement invoice is
attached, and a certified electrician has confirmed the cause as a
voltage spike outside the IS 12360 permissible band. I reserve my right
to claim the cost of Rs [appliance cost] separately under the Consumer
Protection Act 2019.

Kindly credit the SoP compensation to my next bill within 30 days,
failing which I will approach the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum
under Section 42(5) of the Electricity Act 2003.

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Address]
[Email and mobile]
[Date]

Enclosures:
1. Copy of last electricity bill
2. Screenshot of helpline complaint number
3. Photograph of meter at time of outage
4. Repair / replacement invoice for damaged appliance
5. Certified electrician's report (if available)

If you want the regulator to audit your DISCOM's SoP compliance and to generate the data trail for a public-interest case, file this RTI. The SERC is a public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act 2005.

To,
The Public Information Officer,
[Delhi / Maharashtra / Karnataka / Kerala / Uttar Pradesh / Tamil Nadu]
Electricity Regulatory Commission,
[Registered Address]

Application under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act 2005

Subject: SoP compliance audit of [DISCOM name] for the period
[FY 2024-25 / quarter ending DD-MM-YYYY]

Sir / Madam,

I am a consumer of [DISCOM]. I seek the following information under the
Right to Information Act 2005:

1. Total number of SoP compensation claims received by [DISCOM] for
   power-cut violations during [period].
2. Number of claims paid, number rejected, and the total compensation
   amount paid (in Rs).
3. SoP compliance audit report submitted by [DISCOM] to the Commission
   under Regulation [number] of the [State SoP Regulation, year] for
   [FY/quarter].
4. Number of CGRF complaints received and disposed against [DISCOM]
   during [period], with median disposal time.
5. List of show-cause notices, if any, issued by the Commission to
   [DISCOM] under Section 142 of the Electricity Act 2003 for SoP
   non-compliance, with copies of orders.
6. The percentage SAIDI and SAIFI reliability indices reported by
   [DISCOM] for the period, and the corresponding penalty / incentive
   adjustment in the tariff order.

The information is sought in soft copy. If any document exceeds the
prescribed Section 7(1) limit, please intimate the cost under Section
7(3) within 30 days.

Application fee of Rs 10 is enclosed by Indian Postal Order.

I am a citizen of India and confirm that no part of this information
falls under Section 8 or Section 9 of the RTI Act 2005.

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Address]
[Email and mobile]
[Date]

For help drafting variants of this RTI for any state, use the AI RTI Drafter. It auto-fills the public authority address, fee, and statutory citations.

• Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC): Viniyamak Bhawan, C-Block, Shivalik, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi 110017. Website: derc.gov.in
• Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC): 13th floor, World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai 400005. Website: merc.gov.in
• Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC): 6th and 7th Floor, Mahalakshmi Chambers, MG Road, Bengaluru 560001. Website: karnataka.gov.in/kerc
• Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC): KPFC Bhavanam, CV Raman Pillai Road, Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram 695010. Website: erckerala.org
• Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC): Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow 226010. Website: uperc.org
• Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC): 19A, Rukmini Lakshmipathi Salai, Egmore, Chennai 600008. Website: tnerc.gov.in

For DISCOM Ombudsman, the address is published in the SoP Regulation itself and on the SERC website under “Ombudsman”.

The leading precedent is Ajay Mathur v. BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (Delhi SCDRC, 2018), where the State Commission held that a 14-hour outage breaching DERC SoP entitled the consumer to Section 57 compensation and Consumer Protection Act damages for an inverter battery destroyed by deep discharge. The two remedies are concurrent, not alternative.

In MSEDCL v. Lloyds Steel Industries (Bombay High Court, 2008), the Court held that a licensee cannot escape SoP compensation by pleading “force majeure” unless the Load Despatch Centre formally declared a grid event in writing. The Supreme Court in Northern Power Distribution Co of Telangana v. P V Krishnaiah Setty (Civil Appeal 5781 of 2010) held that SoP Regulations notified under Section 57 have statutory force; an internal “service charter” cannot dilute them.

• “Grid failure, not our fault.” Demand the formal grid-event declaration from the State Load Despatch Centre. No paper, no defence, SoP applies.
• “You did not register a complaint.” WhatsApp/email/SMS proof to the helpline counts. Failure to acknowledge is itself an SoP breach.
• “Compensation is only for residential consumers.” False. Read the Schedule; commercial and industrial categories are listed with their own per-hour amounts.
• “Damaged-appliance certificate must be from our technician.” No. Any certified electrician's report plus invoice works at the Consumer Commission.
• “Compensation is capped at one month's bill.” True under SoP, but the Consumer Protection Act claim runs parallel and is not subject to that cap.
• “File at the SERC, not the CGRF.” Wrong. CGRF is mandatory under Section 42(5).

• RTI for Electricity Bill Dispute: drafting RTIs to challenge inflated bills.
• RTI for Electricity Connection Delay: SoP for new connections under Section 43.
• Electricity Complaint RTI: general RTI route for DISCOM grievances.
• Consumer Court Filing Guide: full procedure at District Consumer Commission for the appliance-damage claim.
• File Consumer Complaint at NCDRC: escalation route if your claim is above Rs 2 crore or appeal lies.
• Weekend Problem Solver Hub: playbooks for Saturday/Sunday emergencies including outages.
• Banking Ombudsman Guide: parallel reference for ombudsman-style escalations.

For tools: the AI RTI Drafter generates the SERC RTI in 60 seconds, and the Citizen Concern Resolution Network (CCRN) hub maps your DISCOM's CGRF, Ombudsman, and SERC contact in one click.

Under most State SoP Regulations, the cap is 1 hour urban and 4 hours rural for a normal fault, and 8 to 24 hours for a major fault. Beyond this window, per-hour compensation kicks in at the SoP rate (Rs 50 to Rs 200 per hour typically).

In some states (Maharashtra, parts of Delhi) it is auto-credited on licensee self-certification. In most states it is demand-based. A written demand within 7 days under Section 57 is always the safest route.

No. Section 42(5) makes CGRF mandatory. The State Commission will return any direct petition. After 45 days of CGRF inaction, approach the Electricity Ombudsman of the SERC.

The DISCOM, under Consumer Protection Act 2019 read with Section 57 if the voltage on restoration was outside the IS 12360 band (230 V plus or minus 6 percent). File at the District Consumer Commission with the repair invoice and a certified electrician's report on cause.

Yes if the tenant pays the bill and the meter address matches the tenancy. Attach rent agreement and bill payment proof. CGRF cannot reject for absence of name on the meter alone.

Send a WhatsApp and email to the official 24×7 channel within 30 minutes of the cut, with consumer number, address, and start time. The auto-acknowledgement (delivery tick or auto-reply) is accepted by CGRF as equivalent to a helpline ticket.

• Electricity Act 2003: powermin.gov.in
• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission: cercind.gov.in
• State Electricity Regulatory Commissions: see Section 7 above for state-wise links
• Consumer Protection Act 2019: consumeraffairs.nic.in
• Bureau of Indian Standards IS 12360: bis.gov.in
• Reserve Bank of India publications on payment systems (for parallel ombudsman comparison): rbi.org.in
• National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission orders: ncdrc.nic.in

This article is part of the Citizen Concern Resolution Network (CCRN) on RTI Wiki, a citizen-help library curated by the RTI Wiki editorial team. Sample drafts are templates; verify the SoP Regulation in force in your state on the date of the fault before quoting figures in formal proceedings.