‘PSPCL short-changing consumers’

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, July 13

Even as a majority of people are still reeling under the devastating effects of more than three months of Covid-19 lockdown which resulted in massive loss of business and employment, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has been charged with sending inflated bills to consumers and non-adjustment of amount paid during lockdown when bills were issued on the basis of average consumption.

Gullible consumers feel cheated

State general secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat SB Pandhi said while the aware consumers, who kept proper record of bills and receipts, had approached the PSPCL and got their bills corrected. Many others had paid incorrect/inflated bills. In other words, gullible consumers were cheated by the PSPCL through wrong billing, he added.

In a communication to Chairperson of Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) Kusumjit Sidhu, state general secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat SB Pandhi has complained that arrears were added to most of the bills issued during June 2020 on actual reading after opening of lockdown. In most cases, the amount paid by the consumers against bills raised on average basis during lockdown were not adjusted, or incorrectly adjusted.

He said while the aware consumers, who kept proper record of bills and receipts, had approached the PSPCL and got their bills corrected, many others had paid the incorrect/inflated bills. In other words, gullible consumers were cheated by the PSPCL through wrong billing.

Pandhi further alleged that in many other cases where the consumers had approached the PSPCL offices for rectification of bills, the amount adjusted in the incorrect bills was less than the actual amount paid by the consumers during the lockdown against bills raised on the basis of average consumption.

In support of his allegations, he has attached a few incorrect and corrected bills along with the receipts to show that ‘something was not right’ with the billing system of the PSPCL.

He has urged the regulatory body to look into the matter of wrong billing and cheating consumers by the PSPCL by firstly non-adjustment of paid bills and then adjustment of lesser amount than actually paid by the consumers during the lockdown.