BENGALURU: The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Bescom) has asked citizens to pay their bills manually this month, instead of the online bill payment mode. Technical glitches in the electricity bills of many consumers have led to them being asked to pay much higher amounts than mentioned on their bills while making e-payments.
Many Bescom consumers have received online bills that are four to five times higher than the amounts mentioned on their actual bills, creating confusion and panic among citizens. They pointed out that the difference in amounts was seen on multiple e-payment portals, including the Bescom e-payment one.
“The printed Bescom bill, which came home was of Rs 1,800, but when I tried to pay it online, as I normally do, I found the amount to be Rs 5,400. I have no dues or pending bills.
The transaction history shows no errors. I try to enter the actual amount, but I am unable to do so. I am trying to contact Bescom for assistance, but no one is available,” said Rohini B, a resident.
Similar was the case with Urvashi M, another resident who found the online bill generated to be higher than the manual bill generated. She said the online bill was Rs 6,000 as against her manual bill of Rs 1,900.
Bescom MD admits to errors in electricity bills
Admitting to the error, Mahanthesh Bilagi, MD , Bescom, said this was being reported from many citizens. He said it was because of technical glitches in the software and it was being observed from November 1. “The transition of change of operational services from Infosys to Infinite Solutions should have been a smooth process, but there are some errors which we are trying to set right at the earliest. Citizens are thus finding errors in their bill amount. They are requested not to pay the extra charges, but the actual charges. Since many are unable to pay online, paying bills manually would be a better option. Citizens must also raise a complaint about the difference in amounts with ‘1912’,” he said. (Names of consumers have been changed)