CHENNAI: The electricity bill this time has given a shock for most customers. Many customers claim they have been charged 3-4 times more than their usual consumption, in the month of June. “Even though the officials failed to take the metre reading in April, I paid my bill,” recalls PR Vijayaraghavan, a former Air India employee. “Now, they have charged me Rs 9,000 for the last four months.”
He claims the electricity board is computing bills for units consumed in four months, based on a table. “They are not taking into account the free units available for consumers,” he rues. “If you are calculating for four months, you should give the consumer 200 free units -- 100 per bimonthly cycle as was the case till date. However, they have given only 100 free units for four months.”
The same sentiment has been echoed by many other Chennaiites, including actor Prasanna. “How many of you feel the TNEB is on a looting spree amid the lockdown?” he tweeted. The tweet generated a lot of activity, with many residents even posting pictures of their bills. “My bill amount has increased 10 times, from Rs 1,070 to Rs 10,604,” tweeted one Senthil Kumar.
Assistant director Gowtham Selvaraj tweeted that his bill had gone up from Rs 6,862 to a whopping Rs 19,600. The unannounced and arbitrary hike has affected students and bachelors equally. Praveen, who studies in a private college in the city, got a bill of Rs 5,740.The irony is that Praveen’s room has been lying empty for the last 70 days. “I vacated on March 15. I am not even in the city for the last two months. There was zero usage,” he tweeted along with a picture of his bill.
No mistake in calculation
Earlier, TANGEDO, the power supplier for Chennai, had said that it would not be able to note the metre readings during the lockdown. Domestic consumers were asked to pay the same bill amount they received in January-February for the following months. Now that the assessors have resumed work, they are billing for accumulated readings. “TANGEDCO has to make sure the poor are not affected by this move,” says K Vishnu Mohan Rao of Citizen consumer and civic Action Group.
“It has to rationalise the metre readings. The bill has to be in line with the consumer’s consumption history. Considering that the summer consumption is usually higher than winter consumption, TANGEDCO can ask them to pay their last summer bill and 10% in addition and allow them to pay it over a period of 2-3 months up to a year depending on their financial capability,” he said.
TANGEDCO has denied any miscalculation. It also refuted the allegations of actor Prasanna who in his tweet claimed discrepancies in his latest power bill due to delayed assessment on account of lockdown. The actor was charged Rs 42,632 for consuming 6,920 units between February and May. The units have been divided into two bills for each bill he was charged Rs 21,316 for consuming 3,460 per billing cycle.
In a statement, the power distribution corporation said the actor was billed Rs 13,528 for January, which was paid. However for March (which includes consumption of February ad March) consumers have been asked to pay the previous month’s bill amount owing to the lockdown, but he had not paid it.
In May, the Tangedco billed him Rs 42,632 for consuming 6920 units from February to May. “Had he been charged for total units, he would have to pay Rs 44,152. However, we have charged him only Rs 42,632 as per tariff,” said the statement while condemning the actor for using harsh words against the Corporation.
Grace time to pay bill
The state government has extended the deadline for payment of all LT and LTCT consumers located in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu Districts till July 6 without levy of belated payment surcharge (BPSC) and disconnection and reconnection (DC-RC) fees. If the last date for payment of CC Charges fall on or after June 15, they shall pay the CC charges on their respective dates and no time extension for them shall be granted.
Across the spectrum
The same sentiment has been echoed by many other Chennaiites, including actor Prasanna. “How many of you feel the TNEB is on a looting spree amid the lockdown?” he tweeted. The tweet generated a lot of activity, with many residents even posting pictures of their bills. Assistant director Gowtham Selvaraj tweeted that his bill had gone up from Rs 6,862 to a whopping Rs 19,600. The unannounced and arbitrary hike has affected students and bachelors equally. Praveen, who studies in a private college in the city, got a bill of Rs 5,740. The irony is that Praveen’s room has been lying empty for the last 70 days.