The principle
Electricity bills are personal records. They reveal where someone lives or operates, how much energy they use, when premises are occupied, and what they owe. Handling them casually would be a breach of trust, so we treat the account holder’s permission — not the client’s convenience — as the thing that authorizes everything we do.
Who can give permission
A valid authorization can come only from:
- The consumer named on the electricity connection, as recorded by the DISCOM.
- The owner of the premises, where the connection is held in the owner's name.
- A person or organisation holding a written mandate from that consumer or owner — for example a facility manager, energy consultant or company officer acting under a signed authority letter or board resolution.
Someone merely possessing a bill copy, an account number, or portal credentials is not sufficient. Possession is not permission.
What a valid authorization covers
To be acceptable, the permission must be specific and informed. It should make clear:
- Which electricity connection or connections it applies to (by consumer/account number).
- That LiteBill, acting for the named client, may sign in to the relevant utility portal to retrieve bills for that connection.
- That bills retrieved will be stored, read, converted into structured data, validated, and delivered to the client's systems.
- How long the permission lasts, and that it can be withdrawn at any time.
- Who to contact to withdraw it or raise a concern.
How it works in practice
The Account Holder authorizes
The genuine consumer, owner or occupier named on the electricity connection signs a written authorization naming LiteBill as the party permitted to retrieve their bills.
The client records it
Our client keeps that authorization on file and confirms to us, at the moment a connection is registered, that it exists and is current.
We activate the connection
Only then does the connection enter the download schedule. Until it is confirmed, the connection stays inactive and no portal is ever touched.
Every access is logged
Each retrieval is timestamped against the connection and its authorization, so we can always show on what basis a bill was downloaded.
Portal credentials
Many DISCOM portals require a login. Where credentials are needed, they must have been provided or approved knowingly by the account holder, as part of the same permission.
- Credentials are encrypted at rest and are not displayed back in the client portal once submitted.
- They are used only to fetch bills for the connection they belong to — never for payments, profile changes, service requests, or any other portal action.
- They are never shared between clients and are never sold or disclosed to third parties.
- When permission is withdrawn, the credentials are removed from active processing.
Withdrawing permission
An account holder can withdraw permission at any time, without giving a reason and without any charge. They can do this through the client who onboarded them, or by contacting us directly.
- We stop scheduling downloads for that connection, normally within one business day.
- Stored portal credentials for the connection are removed from active use.
- We keep a minimal audit record showing the connection existed and when permission started and ended, because we must be able to evidence the lawful basis for past access.
- Bills already delivered to the client remain in the client's systems and under the client's responsibility.
If you are an account holder
If your electricity bills are being retrieved through LiteBill and you want to check, change or stop that, contact us. You do not need to go through anyone else first.
- Ask us to confirm whether a connection is registered and who registered it.
- Ask us to stop retrieval for your connection.
- Ask what data we hold that relates to your connection.
- Report a connection you believe was registered without your permission.
How we enforce this
- Clients warrant, in the Terms & Conditions, that a valid authorization exists for every connection they submit.
- We may request evidence of an authorization at any time, and we do request it when something looks irregular.
- Connections without confirmed permission are not activated for download.
- Submitting an unauthorized connection is a material breach: it can lead to immediate suspension, termination, and reporting to the relevant utility or authority where the law requires it.
These commitments sit alongside our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy and Acceptable Use Policy.
Questions about this page?
Our team answers policy and compliance questions directly.