Got an inflated power bill? You needn’t pay it all

There’s good news for those slapped with inflated power bills this summer: you won’t have to pay the abnormally high bill amount, reports HT Correspondent.

There’s good news for those slapped with inflated power bills this summer: you won’t have to pay the abnormally high bill amount.

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Consumers whose bills for June, July and August came to more than 50 per cent of their bills for the same period last year need pay only 30 per cent more than last year. So, if your bill showed you consumed 201 power units in July and 100 units in July 2008, you pay for 130 units.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, after a probe, has directed BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna to issue provisional bills and give consumers 15 days to pay. Those who’d paid before complaining get a refund.

It has also directed the discoms to install ‘check’ meters parallel to power meters at complainants’ homes. These will “check discrepancies in power meters”, commission secretary AK Tewary said.

Furthermore, BSES has been told to fix discrepancies in its billing software within a month.

Interpreting the order, BSES Rajdhani CEO Gopal Saxena said: “It covers only those who complained. That’s 1,600 cases.”

But Tewary said: “If tomorrow someone files a complaint… the order will cover that as well.”

Delhiites had one problem. “Why do we have to complain when the culpability of the discoms has been proved?” asked Pankaj Aggarwal, general secretary of the RWAs Joint Front.