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MINISTRY OF LAW AND
JUSTICE
(Legislative
Department)
New Delhi, the 2nd June, 2003.Jyaistha 12,
1925 (Saka)
The
following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 26th
May, 2003, and is hereby published for general information:
THE ELECTRICITY ACT, 2003
[No.36
of 2003]
[26th
May, 2003]
An Act to consolidate the laws
relating to generation, transmission, distribution, trading and use of
electricity and generally for taking measures conducive to development of
electricity industry, promoting competition therein, protecting interest of
consumers and supply of electricity to all areas, rationalization of
electricity tariff, ensuring transparent policies regarding subsidies,
promotion of efficient and environmentally benign policies, constitution of
Central Electricity Authority, Regulatory Commissions and establishment of
Appellate Tribunal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Be
it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as
follows:-
PART
I
PRELIMINARY
Section 1. (Short title,
extent and commencement) --- (1) This Act may be called the Electricity Act,
2003.
(2)
It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3)
It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by
notification, appoint:
Provided that different dates
may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any
such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a
reference to the coming into force of that provision.
Section 2. (Definitions): --- In this Act, unless the context
otherwise requires,--
(1)“Appellate
Tribunal” means the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity established under
section 110;
(2)
"appointed date" means such date as the Central Government may, by
notification, appoint;
(3)
"area of supply” means the area within which a distribution licensee is authorised
by his licence to supply electricity;
(4)
"Appropriate Commission” means the Central Regulatory Commission referred
to in sub-section (1) of section 76 or the State Regulatory Commission referred
to in section 82 or the Joint Commission referred to in section 83, as the case
may be ;
(5)
"Appropriate Government" means, -
(a) the Central Government, -
(i)
in respect of a generating company wholly or partly owned by it;
(ii) in relation to any inter-State
generation, transmission, trading or supply of electricity and with respect to
any mines, oil-fields, railways, national highways, airports, telegraphs,
broadcasting stations and any works of defence, dockyard, nuclear power
installations;
(iii)
In respect of National Load Despatch Centre; and Regional Load Despatch Centre;
(iv) In
relation to any works or electric installation belonging to it or under its control;
(b)
In any other case, the State Government, having jurisdiction under this Act;
(6)
“Authority” means the Central Electricity Authority referred to in sub-section
(1) of section 70;
(7)
"Board" means, a State Electricity Board, constituted before the
commencement of this Act, under sub-section (1) of section 5 of the Electricity
(Supply) Act, 1948;
(8)
“Captive generating plant” means a power plant set up by any person to generate
electricity primarily for his own use and includes a power plant set up by any
co-operative society or association of persons for generating electricity
primarily for use of members of such cooperative society or association;
(9) "Central Commission" means the
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission referred to in sub-section (1) of
section 76;
(10)
"Central Transmission Utility" means any Government company which the
Central Government may notify under sub-section (1) of section 38;
(11)
"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Authority or Appropriate
Commission or the Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be;
(12)
“Cogeneration” means a process which simultaneously produces two or more forms
of useful energy (including electricity);
(13)
"company" means a company formed and registered under the Companies
Act, 1956 and includes any body corporate under a Central, State or Provincial
Act;
(14)
"conservation" means any reduction in consumption of electricity as a
result of increase in the efficiency in supply and use of electricity;
(15)
"consumer" means any person who is supplied with electricity for his
own use by a licensee or the Government or by any other person engaged in the
business of supplying electricity to the public under this Act or any other law
for the time being in force and includes any person whose premises are for the
time being connected for the purpose of receiving electricity with the works of
a licensee, the Government or such other person, as the case may be;
(16)
“dedicated transmission lines" means any electric supply-line for point to
point transmission which are required for the purpose of connecting electric
lines or electric plants of a captive generating plant referred to in section 9
or generating station referred to in section 10 to any transmission lines or
sub-stations or generating stations, or the load centre, as the case may be;
(17)
"distribution licensee" means a licensee authorised to operate and
maintain a distribution system for supplying electricity to the consumers in
his area of supply;
(18)
"distributing main" means the portion of any main with which a
service line is, or is intended to be, immediately connected;
(19)
"distribution system" means the system of wires and associated
facilities between the delivery points on the transmission lines or the
generating station connection and the point of connection to the installation
of the consumers;
(20)
"electric line" means any line which is used for carrying electricity
for any purpose and includes
(a)
any support for any such line, that is to say, any structure, tower, pole or
other thing in, on, by or from which any such line is, or may be, supported,
carried or suspended; and
(b)
any apparatus connected to any such line for the purpose of carrying
electricity;
(21)
"Electrical Inspector" means a person appointed as such by the
Appropriate Government under sub-section (1) of section 162 and also includes
Chief Electrical Inspector;
(22)
"electrical plant" means any plant, equipment, apparatus or appliance
or any part thereof used for, or connected with, the generation, transmission,
distribution or supply of electricity but does not include-
(a)
an electric line; or
(b)
a meter used for ascertaining the quantity of electricity supplied to any
premises; or
(c) an electrical equipment, apparatus or
appliance under the control of a consumer;
(23)
"electricity" means electrical energy-
(a)
generated, transmitted, supplied or traded for any purpose; or
(b)
used for any purpose except the transmission of a message;
(24)
"Electricity Supply Code" means the Electricity Supply Code specified
under section 50;
(25)
"electricity system” means a system under the control of a generating
company or licensee, as the case may be, having one or more –
(a)
generating stations; or
(b) transmission lines; or
(c)
electric lines and sub-stations; and when used in the context of a State or the
Union, the entire electricity system within the territories thereof;
(26)
"electricity trader" means a person who has been granted a licence to
undertake trading in electricity under section 12;
(27)
“franchisee means a persons authorised by a distribution licensee to distribute
electricity on its behalf in a particular area within his area of supply; (28)
"generating company" means any company or body corporate or
association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, or artificial
juridical person, which owns or operates or maintains a generating station;
(29)
"generate" means to produce electricity from a generating station for
the purpose of giving supply to any premises or enabling a supply to be so
given;
(30)
"generating station" or “station” means any station for generating
electricity, including any building and plant with step-up transformer,
switchgear, switch yard, cables or other appurtenant equipment, if any, used
for that purpose and the site thereof; a site intended to be used for a
generating station, and any building used for housing the operating staff of a
generating station, and where electricity is generated by water-power, includes
penstocks, head and tail works, main and regulating reservoirs, dams and other
hydraulic works, but does not in any case include any sub-station;
(31)
“Government company” shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 617 of
the Companies Act, 1956;
(32) "grid" means the high voltage
backbone system of inter-connected transmission lines, sub-stations and
generating plants;
(33)
"Grid Code" means the Grid Code specified by the Central Commission
under clause (h) of sub-section (l) of section 79;
(34)
"Grid Standards" means the Grid Standards specified under clause (d)
of section 73 by the Authority;
(35)
"high voltage line” means an electric line or cable of a nominal voltage
as may be specified by the Authority from time to time; (36) “ inter-State
transmission system” includes –
(i)
any system for the conveyance of electricity by means of main transmission line
from the territory of one State to another State;
(ii)
the conveyance of electricity across the territory of an intervening State as
well as conveyance within the State which is incidental to such inter-State
transmission of electricity;
(iii) the transmission of electricity within
the territory of a State on a system built, owned, operated, maintained or
controlled by a Central Transmission Utility. (37) “intra-State transmission
system” means any system for transmission of electricity other than an
inter-State transmission system ; (38) “ licence” means a licence granted under
section 14;
(39)
“ licensee” means a person who has been granted a licence under section 14;
(40) “ line” means any wire, cable, tube,
pipe, insulator, conductor or other similar thing (including its casing or
coating) which is designed or adapted for use in carrying electricity and
includes any line which surrounds or supports, or is surrounded or supported by
or is installed in close proximity to, or is supported, carried or suspended in
association with, any such line;
(41) “local authority” means any Nagar
Panchayat, Municipal Council, municipal corporation, Panchayat constituted at
the village, intermediate and district levels, body of port commissioners or
other authority legally entitled to, or entrusted by the Union or any State
Government with, the control or management of any area or local fund;
42)
"main” means any electric supply- line through which electricity is, or is
intended to be, supplied ;
(43) "Member" means the Member of
the Appropriate Commission or Authority or Joint Commission, or the Appellate
Tribunal, as the case may be, and includes the Chairperson of such Commission
or Authority or Appellate Tribunal;
(44) "National Electricity Plan"
means the National Electricity Plan notified under sub-section (4) of section
3;
(45) “National Load Despatch Centre” means the
Centre established under subsection (1) of section 26;
(46) “notification” means notification
published in the Official Gazette and the expression “notify” shall be
construed accordingly;
(47)
“open access” means the non-discriminatory provision for the use of
transmission lines or distribution system or associated facilities with such
lines or system by any licensee or consumer or a person engaged in generation
in accordance with the regulations specified by the Appropriate Commission;
(48) “overhead line” means an electric line
which is placed above the ground and in the open air but does not include live
rails of a traction system;
(49) “person” shall include any company or
body corporate or association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or
not, or artificial juridical person; (50) "power system" means all
aspects of generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity and
includes one or more of the following, namely:-
(a)
generating stations;
(b)
transmission or main transmission lines;
(c)
sub-stations;
(d)
tie-lines;
(e)
load despatch activities;
(f)
mains or distribution mains;
(g)
electric supply-lines;
(h) overhead lines;
(i)
service lines;
(j)
works;
(51)
“premises” includes any land, building or structure;
(52)
“prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the Appropriate Government under
this Act;
(53) "public lamp" means an electric
lamp used for the lighting of any street;
(54)
"real time operation" means action to be taken at a given time at
which information about the electricity system is made available to the
concerned Load Despatch Centre;
(55)
“Regional Power Committee” means a committee established by resolution by the
Central Government for a specified region for facilitating the integrated
operation of the power systems in that region;
(56)
"Regional Load Despatch Centre" means the Centre established under
subsection (1) of section 27;
(57) "regulations" means regulations
made under this Act;
(58)
“repealed laws” means the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, the Electricity
(Supply) Act, 1948 and the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998
repealed by section 185;
(59)
"rules " means rules made under this Act;
(60)
“schedule” means the Schedule to this Act;
(61)
"service-line" means any electric supply-line through which
electricity is, or is intended to be, supplied –
(a) to a single consumer either from a
distributing main or immediately from the Distribution Licensee's premises; or
(b)
from a distributing main to a group of consumers on the same premises or on
contiguous premises supplied from the same point of the distributing main;
(62)
"specified" means specified by regulations made by the Appropriate
Commission or the Authority, as the case may be, under this Act;
(63)
“stand alone system” means the electricity system set-up to generate power and
distribute electricity in a specified area without connection to the grid;
(64)
"State Commission" means the State Electricity Regulatory Commission
constituted under sub-section (1) of section 82 and includes a Joint Commission
constituted under sub-section (1) of section 83;
(65)
"State Grid Code" means the State Grid Code specified under clause
(h) of sub-section (1) of section 86;
(66)
"State Load Despatch Centre" means the centre established under
subsection (1) of section 31;
(67)
"State Transmission Utility" means the Board or the Government
company specified as such by the State Government under sub-section (1) of
section 39;
(68) "street" includes any way,
road, lane, square, court, alley, passage or open space, whether a thoroughfare
or not, over which the public have a right of way, and also the roadway and
footway over any public bridge or causeway;
(69)
"sub-station" means a station for transforming or converting
electricity for the transmission or distribution thereof and includes
transformers converters, switch-gears, capacitors, synchronous condensers,
structures, cable and other appurtenant equipment and any buildings used for
that purpose and the site thereof;
(70)
"supply", in relation to electricity, means the sale of electricity
to a licensee or consumer;
(71) "trading" means purchase of
electricity for resale thereof and the expression "trade" shall be
construed accordingly;
(72)
“transmission lines" means all high pressure cables and overhead lines
(not being an essential part of the distribution system of a licensee)
transmitting electricity from a generating station to another generating
station or a substation, together with any step-up and step-down transformers,
switch-gear and other works necessary to and used for the control of such
cables or overhead lines, and such buildings or part thereof as may be required
to accommodate such transformers, switch-gear and other works;
(73)
"transmission licensee” means a licensee authorised to establish or
operate transmission lines;
(74)
"transmit" means conveyance of electricity by means of transmission
lines and the expression "transmission" shall be construed
accordingly;
(75)
"utility" means the electric lines or electrical plant, and includes
all lands, buildings, works and materials attached thereto belonging to any
person acting as a generating company or licensee under the provisions of this
Act;
(76)
"wheeling" means the operation whereby the distribution system and
associated facilities of a transmission licensee or distribution licensee, as
the case may be, are used by another person for the conveyance of electricity
on payment of charges to be determined under section 62;
(77) "works" includes electric line,
and any building, plant, machinery, apparatus and any other thing of whatever
description required to transmit, distribute or supply electricity to the
public and to carry into effect the objects of a licence or sanction granted
under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
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