Electricity bill for Rs 75 lakh gives shock to city resident

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, August 20

Imagine the plight of a person who receives an electricity bill of more than Rs 75 lakh for power consumption at his residence against an average bill of about Rs 3,000 for two months. That is what exactly happened to Ashok Goenka, a resident of Punjab Mata Nagar locality on Pakhowal Road here.

To his utter shock, the energy bill that Goenka received on August 18, 2015, showed a total consumption of 9,99,921 units whereas the energy meter was showing a reading of 763 units on the day when the bill was prepared by the meter reader on the spot. The amount payable against the bill had been worked out to be Rs 75,34,610, and if the bill was not paid by due date (August 28, 2015), then the payable amount would be Rs 76,66,193.

The bill (No. 1098915H180844057) issued to the consumer mentions the current consumption as 763 units while power consumption on the old meter, i.e. of 9,99,158 units, was added to the bill which made the total energy consumption by the consumer at a staggering 9,99,921 units.

Goenka, a businessman dealing in fabric colours, said even today, his meter was showing a total consumption of 799 units. He said as the previous meter, installed at his residence had burnt down, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had Installed a new meter about two months ago, and he had already paid one bill of Rs 10,320 after the installation of the new meter.

“The average electricity bill that I get against energy consumption at my residence is between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000. I fail to understand how a bill for such a hefty amount has been issued to me without taking into account the actual consumption of electricity,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PSPCL Chief Engineer (Central Zone), NP Singh, said the said electricity bill had been issued erroneously due to a snag in the computer software. A rectified bill has already been issued to the consumer, he said while, adding that the PSPCL had recently switched over to the SAP accounting software and there could be some teething problems for a short while.