CHENNAI: Even though consumers continue to cry foul over the ‘shocking’ electricity bills, TANGEDCO on Wednesday informed the Madras High Court that it cannot grant anymore extension for domestic users to pay the charges. Residents across cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai have also raised similar complaints over high power charges.
Officials have denied claims of miscalculation, stating that consumers were being charged at this point only as per their previous assessment, done around January-February. They argue that the current consumption was low back then, unlike now when the lockdown has forced people to stay indoors during the peak summer season.
For the month of May, total number of units consumed between February and May have been divided into two bills. “After deducting the payment made by the consumers for March bill, the remaining amount has been included in the month of May,” say officials. He added that many consumers might have been charged on a higher slab — above 500 units — as they stayed home during the lockdown.
However, consumers rued that they were charged four to five times more than the regular bill. A city resident said he was billed Rs 17,686 for allegedly consuming more than 4,000 units for May, while his consumption stood at less than 1,000 units in the last 10 (bi-monthly) bills. “Since April last year, I was being billed for less than 1,000 units. The issue with the current bill is not only the miscalculation, but also the method through which the metre registered the consumption,” he said.
Similarly, a doctor based in Mogappair said he received a bill of Rs 28,700 for May while his regular bi-monthly bill ranged between Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,000. “Except the air conditioner, I have not used any other electrical equipment,” he said. Echoing similar complaints, a retired school teacher from Korattur said he was shocked after seeing a bill of Rs 6,200 as against the regular bill of Rs 1,300.
Tangedco sources say the power demand of the State plummeted by 30 per cent ever since the lockdown was imposed in March. However, consumption among domestic consumers has been gradually increasing. “The average power consumption of the State which stood at 15,700 MW till the third week of March, had fallen to 11,177 MW on March 27 owing to closure of commercial establishments and industries. However, per day average consumption gradually increased and exceeded 12,000 MW in the end of May. This is possible only if the domestic consumption increased during the lockdown in April and May,” said official sources.
“Power consumption will be low during January and December. Since consumers were billed for the lowest amount last time, they now feel the new bill has increased,” explained the official. In its affidavit, TANGEDCO said that the bill months of May 2020 payable in June 2020 only 13.62 percent of consumers are yet to make payment of Rs 478.36 crore. It said it has extended the time till July 6 for areas where complete lockdown is in place.