BENGALURU: Many consumers in the city and other parts of the state have been in shock since June, as they are receiving electricity bills that are more than their regular monthly bills.
These Additional Security Deposit (ASD) bills from electricity supply companies are for consuming more power. The ASD ranges from Rs 250-2,500. To make matters worse, consumers are asked to pay the bills within seven days in cash at the nearest electricity supply company office as online payments are not being accepted.
“We had not got such a bill so far. This is the first time. We had no option but to pay it as we did not want power supply to be disconnected. There was no one at Bescom to explain this to us,” said Vibha K, a resident from Bengaluru. Consumers, who were getting zero bills under the Gruha Jyothi scheme, too have received ASD bills along with the electricity meter bills. Most such consumers are under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) limits.
The amount billed for the first quarter of this financial year is equal to that of the last financial year. As per Bescom data, from 24,28,596 installations, Rs 450.94 crore has been billed for the financial year 2024- 25. Last year, Rs 450 crore was received from the 23,99,602 installations.
A Bescom official said, “This year, the amount and consumers being given ASD is more, as summer was harsh and prolonged.”
Bescom Director (Finance) Darshan J told The New Indian Express that generally around 0.5% of consumers get ASD bills annually. It depends on consumption. “On an average, most consumers opt for meters of 1KW power consumption as fixed charges are less and also people assume that they will consume less. But over time, consumption increases. Based on the rise in consumption for a couple of months, ASD bills are generated. These bills were not being generated earlier as meter reading was manual. But since it has been digitised, meter readings are compared and calculated and ASDs are generated automatically,” he added.
The amount is like a penalty for consuming more power. The collected amount is utilised for transformer enhancement and maintenance. It is also used in repairing lines, which might have got damaged during power fluctuations, the official added.