Residents protest against smart meters, claim inflated power bills

Around 300 residents marched from Panchayat Bhawan to Mini Secretariat, near Rajiv Chowk, protesting against the installation of smart electricity meters by the

Around 300 residents marched from Panchayat Bhawan to Mini Secretariat, near Rajiv Chowk, protesting against the installation of smart electricity meters by the electricity department. They raised the issue of inflated power bills and demanded a waiver for electricity charges during the three months of lockdown.

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Residents of New Palam Vihar, Palam Vihar, Sai Kunj, Bajghera and several colonies gathered under the aegis of Jan Adhikar Sanghathan and took out the protest march around 11am. They also submitted a memorandum, addressed to the chief minister, to the district administration officials.

“The smart meters are not accurate and compared to normal meters, the readings are 30 to 49% higher. The DHBVN {Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam} is issuing inflated bills and consumers are getting double to triple the bills they used to get in the past. The DHBVN has been changing meters frequently in the last few years, but there is no benefit to the consumers due to this spending,” said Bir Singh Beeru Sarpanch, who heads the Sanghathan.

The delegation also asked the government to waive off three months of electricity bill for the lockdown period on humanitarian grounds, as a large number of people lost their jobs. The consumers also demanded that billing should be done on monthly basis so that bills are not calculated at the highest slab.

“Thousands of crores have been given to power companies as relief for pandemic losses and it is pertinent the government also offers relief to consumers on similar lines,” Rakesh Rana, president, Sai Kunj residents’ welfare association (RWA).

Kuldip Dahiya, president, Sahib Kunj RWA, said that electricity consumers across the city have decided to unite and oppose the installation of smart meters as these are too inaccurate. “We will submit memorandums, hold protests and refuse to pay bills if the government does not accept our demand,” he said.

The DHBVN, under the Smartgrid project, has so far installed 100,000 smart meters, with a target of 300,000 smart meters for the city. However, there has been a slew of complaints by residents, who have alleged multiple problems, which mostly lead to inflated bills.

Amit Khatri, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said that the concerns raised by city residents would be sent to government for consideration. “The concerns raised by city residents would be sent to the government,” said Khatri.