The Electricity Act, 1910 has been repealed on 12th February 2018 by re-enacting the Electricity Act 2018 for ensuring better supply as well as use and for meeting up the gradual accumulative demand of electrical energy all over the country. The new Act of 2018 has re-claimed its original character based on principle of compensatory punishment giving unfettered discretion to the court without limiting minimum period of imprisonment. The term ‘electricity theft’ has dubiously been defined in the new Act of 2018 under section 2(12). The definition has no interpretive clause in explaining theft through the use of different appliances like through meter by-pass, meter tempering, meter jamming etc. Sections 18 and 19 the Electricity Act, 2018 has empowered a licensee over a regular consumer. Wide discretionary power has been given to a licensee in respect of disconnecting consumers’ connection and of entering into private persons’ premises without service of notice or without prior permission of the court. The new legislation has got its uniqueness from the earlier one. Firstly, because of chapter two for development of electricity sector with a unitary operating system contrary to the previous manifold structure. Secondly, under the new Act, the consumer can get special service through special line subject to a payment of special fees under section 16 and they might avoid complications involved in monthly payment through advance payment under section 22. Thirdly the principles of collective as well as individual accountability have been introduced under section 18(3), 37, 43. Fourthly, the new Act has classified certain offences as cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable and some as cognizable, bailable and compoundable. Under section 37, for illegal and defective power supply or supply beyond permitted area or discontinuance of supply to certain locality without justifiable ground, a licensee shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or fine not exceeding one lac or both. A person or groups of person can file a case against a company or licensee for unusual load shedding without justifiable cause under this section. All offences are to be tried exclusively by first class judicial magistrate or metropolitan magistrate. Furthermore, there is no reference as to what extent this Act will be applicable to offences committed by consumer under rural electric board that will surely create jurisdictional paradox in and outside Dhaka because they have only two separate courts based in Dhaka.
Law for Nations has represented a mentionable number of cases before Electricity Court successfully.