Gurugram RWAs seek trials and safeguards before unified power billing rollout

More than 15 RWAs from Gurugram’s Dwarka Expressway corridor met in Sector 102 on Saturday to seek safeguards before a proposed shift to Unified Billing Software for electricity bills in group housing societies.

The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) directed Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) on August 25 to take steps towards implementing the software in societies with Single Point Supply connections. Under that arrangement, DHBVN sends one bill based on the main meter, while an RWA collects charges from residents through sub-meters.

The associations from societies across Sectors 99 to 113 said billing domestic use, common areas and commercial facilities separately is too technical for RWAs to manage without support. Dhananjay Jha, president of the Suncity Avenue RWA in Sector 102, said the groups would accept unified billing if it did not leave RWAs with financial losses.

Residents also cited earlier attempts in which the software had not resolved billing problems. The RWAs want written operating instructions, technical training, trial runs and a contingency system for outages or software failures. They also want clarity on retrospective non-domestic supply demands.

HERC has asked DHBVN to submit a compliance report by October 12.