RTI for MP Electricity DISCOM — Bill, Connection and Meter Complaints in Madhya Pradesh

Electricity consumers in Madhya Pradesh often face challenges that are common across urban and rural India — an unexplained spike in the electricity bill, a distribution transformer that has been sitting unrepaired for days, a new connection application that has gone silent, or a helpline complaint that was closed without any resolution. Unlike states that have a single statewide distribution company, Madhya Pradesh has three geographically distinct electricity distribution companies, each a separate public authority. Understanding which company covers your area, what records it holds, and how to compel it to share those records is the first step to resolving any electricity dispute.

All three MP DISCOMs are companies wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. They are therefore public authorities within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and every electricity consumer in Madhya Pradesh has a legally enforceable right to seek information from them.

The Three DISCOMs: Who Covers Which Area

Madhya Pradesh restructured its power sector into three distribution zones to improve accountability and service delivery. The three distribution companies are:

MPPKVVCL — MP Paschim Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited (Western DISCOM) Headquartered in Indore, MPPKVVCL serves the western zone of Madhya Pradesh. Its area broadly covers Indore, Ujjain, Dewas, Ratlam, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Shajapur, Agar-Malwa, and the surrounding districts. If you live or run a business in the Malwa or Nimar region, your electricity connection is almost certainly held by MPPKVVCL.

MPMKVVCL — MP Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited (Central DISCOM) Headquartered in Bhopal, MPMKVVCL covers the central and north-central zone. Its area broadly includes Bhopal, Gwalior, Chambal division (Morena, Bhind, Sheopur), Rajgarh, Vidisha, Sehore, Raisen, Datia, Shivpuri, Guna, Ashoknagar, and surrounding districts. Consumers in the state capital and the Gwalior-Chambal belt are served by MPMKVVCL.

MPPEZVCL — MP Poorv Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited (Eastern DISCOM) Headquartered in Jabalpur, MPPEZVCL serves the eastern zone — the largest in geographic area. It covers Jabalpur, Rewa, Sagar, Satna, Katni, Narsinghpur, Chhindwara, Seoni, Mandla, Balaghat, Dindori, Anuppur, Umaria, Shahdol, Panna, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari, and the broader Mahakoshal, Vindhya, and Baghelkhand regions.

Your electricity bill header will name the DISCOM. If you are unsure, call 1912 (the unified electricity helpline operational across all three DISCOMs in MP) with your consumer account number and the call centre will confirm which company holds your account.

It is important to note that MPSERC (the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission) is a separate body — it is the state electricity regulator that sets tariffs, service standards, and consumer protection norms. MPSERC is not a distribution company; it does not hold your billing records. RTI applications for billing or service issues should be addressed to the relevant DISCOM, not to MPSERC.

What RTI Can Help You Get

An RTI application to an MP DISCOM does not directly fix your electricity problem, but it creates a formal, documented paper trail — compelling the company to state in writing the facts behind your bill, the status of your complaint, and the applicable timelines. This information is the foundation of every effective escalation, whether to the DISCOM's Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF), the MPERC Electricity Ombudsman, or the Madhya Pradesh State Information Commission (MPSIC).

RTI to MPPKVVCL, MPMKVVCL, or MPPEZVCL can help you:

• Verify the basis of a disputed electricity bill — obtain the actual meter reading date and recorded value, confirm whether the reading was physical or estimated, and get a line-by-line breakdown of all charges and levies
• Establish whether estimated billing was applied — find out if the DISCOM generated your bill without a physical meter reading, and for how many consecutive cycles this occurred, since back-billing after estimated cycles is a frequent cause of sudden spikes
• Obtain meter accuracy and testing history — confirm whether your meter has been tested since installation, the test result, and the consumer's right under MPERC regulations to request a formal test
• Track a transformer repair — find out when the fault was reported, when the work order was issued, who is responsible, and whether MPERC's prescribed restoration timeline has been breached
• Get the status of a pending new connection — know the exact processing stage, the officer responsible, and the MPERC-mandated maximum timeline for releasing connections in your consumer category
• Obtain feeder-level outage data — get records of unplanned supply interruptions, their duration, causes, and restoration times for your area over a specified period
• Examine a closed complaint — find out how a helpline or office complaint was recorded, whether the resolution was genuine, and who was responsible

Where to File: Choosing the Right Authority

Each of the three MP DISCOMs designates State Public Information Officers (SPIOs) at multiple levels:

Division Office SPIO (Executive Engineer level): This is the most practical first choice for consumer-level queries — billing records, meter readings, transformer fault logs, and new connection status for a specific locality or service connection. Division offices hold operational records at the ground level and can respond faster on specific consumer account matters. Identify the Division that covers your area from your electricity bill or by calling 1912.

Circle Office SPIO (Superintending Engineer level): The Circle oversees multiple Divisions. Filing at Circle level is appropriate if you need comparative data across Divisions, or if your complaint involves a systemic issue rather than a single consumer account.

Head Office SPIO (Managing Director / Corporate Office level): Each DISCOM's head office is the safe default if you are unsure of the divisional jurisdiction, or if you need corporate-level policy records, board resolutions, or information about DISCOM-wide contracts and procurements.

• MPPKVVCL Head Office: Shakti Bhavan, Indore
• MPMKVVCL Head Office: Shakti Bhavan, Bhopal
• MPPEZVCL Head Office: Shakti Bhavan, Jabalpur

Under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, if you file at the wrong level and the relevant records are held at a different office, the SPIO who received your application is obligated to transfer it to the correct officer within five days and inform you.

Second Appeal: All three MP DISCOMs are Madhya Pradesh State Government bodies. Second appeals go to the Madhya Pradesh State Information Commission (MPSIC) under Section 19(3) of the RTI Act, 2005 — not to the Central Information Commission (CIC). The CIC handles only Central Government public authorities.

How to File

Step 1: Gather Your Reference Details

Before drafting the application, collect the following from your electricity bill, DISCOM receipt, or complaint acknowledgment:

• Your consumer account number (also called service connection number) and meter number — printed on every bill
• The billing cycle in dispute (month and year) and the billed amount
• The complaint or grievance reference number if you have already called 1912 or visited a DISCOM office
• Your new connection application reference number (if asking about connection status)
• The date and locality of the transformer fault or supply disruption (if asking about repair or outage records)
• The name of your DISCOM Division or Sub-Division — identifiable from the bill header or the office where you normally pay bills

Step 2: Draft Your Application Under Section 6

Use the sample RTI draft on this page as a template. Include only the questions relevant to your situation — you are not required to use all five points. Keep the language factual and specific: name the consumer account number, billing period, meter number, or exact locality. Under Section 6(2) of the RTI Act, you are not required to give any reason for seeking the information, and the DISCOM cannot ask you to justify your request.

Write an RTI, not a complaint. Ask for records, dates, names of officers, and applicable norms — do not ask the DISCOM to fix the problem within the RTI itself. The information you receive becomes the basis for a separate, well-documented complaint or appeal.

Step 3: File Online or by Post

Online: Visit rti.mp.gov.in, the official RTI portal of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Register or log in, select the relevant DISCOM (MPPKVVCL, MPMKVVCL, or MPPEZVCL) as the public authority, fill in the application form, upload your draft, and pay the ₹10 fee online. Save the acknowledgment and registration number.

By post or in person: Submit a physical application addressed to the SPIO at the relevant Division Office or Head Office. Enclose a ₹10 Indian Postal Order (IPO) drawn in favour of the relevant DISCOM's Accounts Officer (confirm the exact payee name with the office). Keep the postal receipt and the original IPO counterfoil. BPL cardholders are fully exempt from the ₹10 fee under Section 7(5) of the RTI Act; attach a self-attested copy of the BPL ration card when submitting.

Step 4: Track Your Application

The DISCOM SPIO must respond within 30 days from the date of receipt under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act. If the information concerns life or liberty — for example, an extended outage affecting a patient dependent on home medical equipment — the response is due within 48 hours under the proviso to Section 7(1). Track online applications through rti.mp.gov.in using the registration number.

Step 5: Appeal If Needed

First Appeal (Section 19(1)): If the SPIO does not respond within 30 days, or the response is incomplete or evasive, file a First Appeal with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. The FAA is a senior officer within the same DISCOM designated for this purpose. No fee is payable. The FAA must decide within 30 days, extendable to 45 days with recorded reasons.

Second Appeal (Section 19(3)): If the FAA's decision is unsatisfactory or the FAA does not respond, file a Second Appeal with the Madhya Pradesh State Information Commission (MPSIC) within 90 days of the FAA's decision or the expiry of the FAA's decision period. Under Section 20 of the RTI Act, MPSIC can impose a penalty of ₹250 per day (up to ₹25,000) on the SPIO personally for failure to respond without reasonable cause, and may recommend disciplinary action against the defaulting officer.

Detailed Information Requests

Meter Reading History and Billing Records

1. Actual meter readings for the last 12 billing cycles — the date of each reading, the recorded figure in kWh, and whether it was a physical reading or an estimated/average figure
2. The name or designation of the meter reader who visited the premises for each physical reading
3. Number of consecutive cycles in the last 24 months for which no physical reading was taken at consumer account no. XXX, and the MPERC tariff order or DISCOM instruction under which estimated billing was applied
4. A component-wise bill computation for the disputed billing cycle — energy charges, fixed charges, fuel surcharge, electricity duty, MPERC-approved levies, arrears included, and a citation of the MPERC tariff order under which each component was calculated

Meter Accuracy Testing

1. Date of installation of the meter at address bearing Meter No. XXX and the date of the last accuracy test conducted by the DISCOM, with the test result and percentage error recorded
2. MPERC or DISCOM policy specifying the interval at which distribution meters must be mandatorily tested for accuracy, and whether that interval has been exceeded for the above meter
3. Procedure under which a consumer may formally request a meter accuracy test, the authority competent to sanction it, and the prescribed maximum time for the DISCOM to conduct and report on the test

Transformer Fault and Repair Log

1. Date and time the fault was reported for the distribution transformer serving locality / feeder name, District, the complaint reference number, and the officer to whom it was assigned
2. Date of fault inspection, diagnosis recorded, and work order or indent issued for repair or replacement — with the name and designation of the supervising officer
3. MPERC-prescribed or DISCOM-standard timeline for restoring supply after a distribution transformer fault in an urban / rural area, and whether that timeline was met; if not, the reason for the excess duration
4. Current status: if completed, the date and time of supply restoration; if still pending, the expected completion date and the present stage of work

New Electricity Connection

1. Date of receipt of new connection application ref. no. XXX and the acknowledgment number issued; if not issued at receipt, the reason for non-issuance
2. Current processing stage and the specific reason for any delay exceeding the MPERC-prescribed timeline for new connections in this consumer category
3. MPERC or DISCOM maximum prescribed timeline for releasing a new domestic / commercial / agricultural connection from the date of a complete application, and whether the above application has exceeded that timeline
4. Name and designation of the officer currently responsible for the application and the expected date of connection release

Consumer Complaint Records

1. Action-taken report for complaint reference XXX lodged on DD/MM/YYYY — name and designation of the officer assigned, date of assignment, and whether the complaint is open or closed
2. If closed: the date of closure, the resolution recorded, and whether the consumer was notified of the closure
3. If escalated to the DISCOM's Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF): the CGRF docket number, hearing date(s), and the outcome of the CGRF proceeding

Parallel Remedies

RTI is a transparency tool, not a grievance forum. While you await or act on the RTI response, you can pursue the following in parallel:

DISCOM Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF): Each MP DISCOM is required under the Electricity Act, 2003, and MPERC regulations to maintain a CGRF. It has jurisdiction over billing disputes, connection delays, and service quality complaints. CGRF proceedings are consumer-friendly and do not require a lawyer.

MPERC Electricity Ombudsman: If the CGRF fails to redress your grievance within the prescribed period, or if you are dissatisfied with the CGRF order, you may approach the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission's Electricity Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has the authority to direct the DISCOM to correct bills, restore connections, and pay compensation.

Consumer Forum (District Commission): For monetary claims arising from deficiency in electricity service — for example, damages caused by voltage fluctuation, or excess billing not corrected by the DISCOM — you may file a consumer complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

An RTI response documenting the DISCOM's own records — meter reading history showing unexplained consumption, a transformer repair log showing a breach of restoration norms, or a new connection file showing no action taken — is strong corroborating evidence in any of these forums. Filing RTI early, before approaching the CGRF or Ombudsman, strengthens your position considerably.