RWAs along Dwarka E-way seek safeguards before unified power billing rollout

More than 15 RWAs plan to seek impleadment in HERC proceedings and want a manual, training, trial runs and a contingency plan for software failures.

Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) representing group housing societies along the Dwarka Expressway have sought greater transparency, technical support and safeguards before the Unified Billing Software (UBS) is implemented for societies with Single Point Supply (SPS) electricity connections.

RWAs along Dwarka E-way seek safeguards before unified power billing rollout

Representatives of more than 15 RWAs from sectors 99 to 113 met at a conference hall in Sector 102 on Saturday, following the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (HERC) August 25 order directing Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) to take steps to ensure implementation of the Unified Billing Software (UBS) in group housing societies. The August 25 order followed concerns over the non-implementation and operational difficulties associated with UBS in group housing societies. HERC directed DHBVN to take steps to ensure the system’s implementation and submit a compliance report to the commission. However, the order does not specify a uniform implementation deadline for every society.

The RWAs said several operational, legal and financial concerns needed to be addressed before the system was made mandatory. They also resolved to seek impleadment in the ongoing HERC proceedings to present the difficulties faced by societies before the commission.

The HERC had taken suo motu cognisance after the Unified Billing Software failed to deliver the intended solution in societies where it had been introduced or tested. RWAs said the software had either not been adopted or had failed to resolve existing billing complications, including the separation of domestic, common-area and commercial consumption. HERC directed DHBVN to submit a compliance report by October 12, 2026, setting out the steps taken to address the deficiencies, ensure effective implementation and resolve concerns raised by consumers and RWAs.

“We want to adopt the unified billing system. But we strongly doubt whether the software will resolve our existing issues. In support of our doubt, we can simply say that not a single society in Gurugram has opted for this software so far,” said Sunil Sareen of Imperial Garden, Sector 102.

Residents cited past experience with the software. “Our society opted for the software, but it still did not resolve the billing system. We were hopeful, but it failed,” said Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Mahindra Aura, Sector 110.

Under the Single Point Supply (SPS) arrangement, DHBVN raises a single bill based on main-meter consumption, while the RWA recovers the amount from individual consumers through sub-meter readings. RWAs said the process requires societies to account separately for domestic, common-area and commercial consumption.

The exact number of societies covered by the SPS arrangement, and the number expected to transition to the Unified Billing Software (UBS), was not disclosed at the meeting. RWAs said the system would affect group housing societies that currently receive a consolidated bill from DHBVN and recover electricity charges from individual consumers through internal sub-metering.

“We have requested DHBVN to raise DS and NDS bills separately, but the department is not doing so,” said Naval Kishore of Heritage Max.

The RWAs sought a written manual, technical training, trial runs and a contingency mechanism for software failures. They also sought clarity on retrospective NDS demands, including liabilities from four to five years earlier, particularly where the load was already mentioned in approved electrical plans.

Sunny Singh Daultabad of Dwarka Expressway (Gurugram) Development Association said responsibility for the technically complex process should not rest entirely with ordinary RWA office-bearers. The associations also urged DHBVN to explore direct connections and billing for individual consumers wherever technically and legally feasible.

The RWAs resolved to seek a meeting with the DHBVN managing director and pursue a joint representation before HERC.

DHBVN officials said they had not yet received any written representation from the RWAs and were likely to receive it on Monday. They said that once the document was received, a meeting would be held to examine the concerns raised by the RWAs and work towards solutions.