Even after a decade of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) introducing compensation for power cuts caused by technical glitches, most people remain unaware of the norms.

Even some senior officials feigned ignorance of the rules that were introduced in 2014.

A document that lays out the norms is available on PSPCL’s website.

Sunder Nagar division executive engineer said, “While there are compensation rules, we don’t receive any claims.”

On being questioned about the norms, Ludhiana zone chief engineer Inderpal Singh said, “There are no such rules.”

The technical faults increase with the rise in demand amid hot weather. Wires often overheat, leading to power cuts. According to a lineman, few linemen cater to vast areas and it often takes hours to resolve all the calls, leading to long outages in the city.

The rules call for a compensation of ₹100 if an individual is affected, and ₹50 per consumer for more if a power outage call is not resolved within four hours. The same compensation is to be paid if an overhead line breakdown is not resolved within eight hours.

For the inspection and replacement of slow, fast/creeping, stuck-up meters, the rules prescribe three days for inspection and 24 hours for replacement. A compensation of ₹200 per day is to be paid in case of a delay. For burnt meters that have to be replaced within 24 hours, a consumer is owed ₹300 per day as compensation.