VIJAYAWADA: Allaying apprehensions that power distribution companies charged consumers excess amounts for March and April, Energy Secretary and Chairman and Managing Director of APTRANSCO Nagulapalli Srikant on Wednesday said the billing was done on a scientific basis, keeping in view the interest of consumers.
A toll-free number — 1912 — was set up to address grievances regarding power bills and supply, and special officers have been appointed for each district for the same, he added. Srikant asserted that there were no errors, as claimed in a few reports. Explaining how the billing was done in the absence of spot (metre reading) billing, he said, “We took into consideration the average of the domestic power consumption over the past five years in March and April, which stands at 46 per cent and 54 per cent respectively.
Bills were prepared on a 50:50 ratio in the last two months as metre readings were not taken in April due to the lockdown. The bills for April were below the slab as 4 per cent of power consumption was included in the bills for March. So there was no scope to charge excess.” He also pointed out that the state government was extending `1,700 crore as subsidies for domestic consumers and hence there was no chance of charging even an extra rupee.
As people stayed at home in April, there was a drastic increase in power consumption during the month. “The increase is about 15 million units per day,” he observed. On the other hand, industrial and commercial consumption did not cross 20 per cent last month.