Pay Back Excess Power Charges to Residents: HERC Orders RWA and Unitech Realty in Gurugram, Imposes ₹50,000 Penalty

Gurugram, March 6, 2026: The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has directed the resident welfare association of Uniworld Gardens II in Gurugram and developer Unitech Realty Pvt Ltd to follow electricity billing rules and refund extra money collected from residents .

Penalty and Compliance Order

The panel imposed a ₹50,000 penalty on the RWA and ordered compliance within 30 days. It warned that if the order is not followed, an additional penalty of ₹6,000 per day will be imposed for continued violation. The panel also barred Unitech from relying on a Supreme Court moratorium to avoid following electricity billing rules .

Petition Background

The petition was filed by Gurgaon resident Naresh Kumar Jindal under sections 142 and 146 of the Electricity Act, 2003. He alleged that the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum order dated September 2, 2022 was not followed. The dispute relates to electricity billing in Uniworld Gardens II, where power is supplied through the "single point supply" system by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam .

Allegations of Overcharging

The petitioner alleged that Unitech and the RWA increased electricity bills arbitrarily and not in line with HERC's Single Point Supply Regulations, 2020. According to the complaint, residents were charged more than the tariff meant for domestic consumers—approximately ₹6.1 per unit, while DHBVN billed the bulk supply at ₹5.25 per unit .

The petitioner also raised objections to additional charges such as a daily standing charge of ₹139 and fixed charges related to prepaid meter operations, stating these were not consistent with tariff regulations .

He further alleged that the developer collected connection charges of ₹58,683 and kept around ₹60 lakh that should have been refunded to residents .

Previous Orders Ignored

In 2020, the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum had ruled that electricity bills should be recalculated using the telescopic tariff applicable to individual consumers and ordered refund of excess money collected from residents. The resident approached the commission in 2023 seeking enforcement of this order .

In February 2024, HERC had already imposed a ₹50,000 penalty and set a daily penalty of ₹6,000 for non-compliance .

Unitech's Moratorium Argument Rejected

In its reply to HERC, Unitech argued that proceedings should not continue because of a moratorium imposed by the Supreme Court in the case of Bhupinder Singh vs Unitech Ltd. The developer claimed that the January 20, 2020 order imposed a moratorium on starting proceedings against Unitech and its subsidiaries .

However, the petitioner argued that the moratorium was being wrongly interpreted and cannot be used to justify illegal electricity billing. HERC clarified in its order that compliance with tariff regulations remains mandatory regardless of any moratorium .

The RWA had attempted to shift responsibility for billing and collection onto the developer, but HERC held both parties jointly responsible for compliance .

Commission's Directives

HERC directed Unitech and the RWA to:

• Issue new electricity bills according to regulations through universal billing software

• Proportionately refund excess amounts collected in the next billing cycle

• Immediately stop illegal charges

• Fully comply with the order within the stipulated timeline

The commission warned that continued non-compliance could lead to property attachment, heavy fines, and even civil imprisonment under Section 146. DHBVN officials have also been directed to ensure implementation of the order .