Strong power bills scare customers, says MSEDCL not to overburden

Nagpur:- Consumers are widespread unhappy about high-power bills issued this month by state-run discontent  MSEDCL. Most consumers feel they are overloaded by the company. MSEDCL officials have clarified that the high amount was due to average billing over the past 2-3 months and now billing is being done for that period based on actual consumption.

An official from MSEDCL official told that meter reading was stopped in early March and only average bills were issued. “We started reading again in June and are sending out bills based on actual consumption now. This is the reason for consumers feeling that they are being cheated.”

Based on average consumption in December 2019, January, and February, average bills were issued in March, April, and May according to the official. “The consumption during winter months is low because people don’t use ceiling fans, air coolers, and air-conditioners. In summer, these appliances are used and hence the power consumption shoots up,” he said.

To give an example, the official said, “Tell your consumption was 100 units in December, 90 units in January and 110 units in February. In those three months, your average consumption was 100 units. The bill was released for March, April, and May assuming your monthly consumption is 100 units. Your consumption in March, however, was in fact say 200 units, 300 units in April and 400 units in May. So, in those three months, you’ve consumed 900 units while paying the bill for only 300 units. Now, you will have to pay the bill for the extra 600 units.”
The official assured the consumers had been given the slab benefit.

“During these three months the 900 units consumed were divided by three, and we calculated that your monthly consumption was 300 units. Even though you consumed 400 units in May and would have been charged at a higher rate for units consumed in excess of 300 units, you will get an average benefit and pay a total lower amount, “he said adding that the current bill had adjusted the average bill amount paid by consumers.
The official acknowledged that it was difficult for the customers to pay the extra bill for three months at one go.

“However, they are also to blame. Only 3.6 lakh consumers took their readings and paid the actual bills through our mobile apps. If every customer had done that, we wouldn’t have faced the cash flow dilemma and their bill would have spread, “he said. However, I learned that many consumers did not receive MSEDCL SMS to submit a meter reading and they were asked to do so ‘after receiving SMS’ when they tried to do it through the mobile app.