GHAZIABAD: The power department has sent notifications to 307 housing societies throughout the city for neglecting to submit mandatory annual electricity audit reports. This action is part of an effort to regulate common-area power usage and prevent Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and Apartment Owners Associations (AOAs) from overcharging residents.
The audit encompasses electricity used in shared facilities, including lifts, lobbies, basements, parking areas, clubhouses, and street lighting. Approximately 350-360 housing societies in the district are required to submit these annual reports, yet only 53 have complied to date.
Executive Engineer (Trans-Hindon) Amit Jha noted that the department initially provided societies with 15 days to submit their reports and extended the deadline to July 31. “As most societies either failed to comply or provided inadequate responses, new notices have been issued, offering an additional 15 days,” he explained, mentioning that non-compliance will incur penalties.
For society defaults, the penalties will be structured as follows: Rs 5,000 for the first offense, Rs 10,000 for the second, and Rs 15,000 for the third. Continued non-submission of the audit report may also lead to disconnection of electricity, according to officials.
Notices have been issued to societies in areas such as Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara, Kaushambi, Raj Nagar Extension, and Mohan Nagar, covering several multi-storey residential complexes.
“Each year, the RWA or AOA is required to submit an electricity audit report. The audit must clearly outline energy charges, fixed charges, and other billing components to verify that residents are not overcharged,” Jha added.
Recently, the power department has received multiple complaints from residents regarding inconsistencies in common-area electricity bills, including inflated consumption and excess charges imposed by RWAs or maintenance agencies.
The audit requirement is particularly crucial for older societies that still utilize single-point electricity connections. In 2018, these societies were instructed to transition to multi-point connections due to complaints that some builders were overcharging residents. While many have made the switch, several older complexes still operate on single-point connections, making annual audits necessary for ensuring transparency in billing.
The department is actively monitoring compliance across all three power distribution zones in the district. Officials have stated that action will be taken against non-compliant societies in the first week of August.
