Guwahati: The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) on Wednesday acknowledged irregularities in consumers’ monthly electricity dues, claiming that while there had been small anomalies for some time, they had just now become evident.
Addressing the media today at Bijulee Bhawan in Guwahati, APDCL Customer Relations Advisor Abhijit Sarma Barua said that the company is ready to accept client complaints in that regard.
Customers were further advised by the power distribution firm to come forward and file complaints if they discovered errors on their bills.
Taking questions, the senior official mentioned that there can be several reasons behind the sudden hike in monthly dues some of which may be the excessive use of fans and Air Conditioners (ACs) during the summer months, fault in the meter readings and so on.
He also acknowledged mistakes made by firm personnel, claiming that some of them create bills based on estimates rather than actual readings from metre boxes.
Barua said, “The monthly bills of even our own employees have risen by around 10 per cent. The foremost reason for this hike is the excessive use of ACs during the summer months. The increase in general electricity tariff is due to excessive energy consumption.”
He said, “Considering hike in fuel prices for the Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPPA), since September, there has been a hike of 30 paise per unit, which means without the discretion of customers, there has been a slight hike in electricity tariff.”
The senior official continued, “There is no connection between the new smart metre boxes installed and the increase in tariff, although we cannot rule out that they may be defective.”
Barua also stated that some clients’ bills totaling between Rs 4 and 5 lakhs are unquestionably fake. This could have happened as a result of a math error or an error in the metre readings.
He said, “GM and CGM level authorities are in charge of handling the problem of defects in the metre boxes. We take it really seriously. Minor anomalies have always existed, but this time they caught the public’s attention because of larger-scale inconsistencies.
“We’ve had complaints about about 200 smart metre boxes. Unusual electricity bill rises will be looked into,” added the customer relations official.
APDCL released a helpline number earlier in the day where consumers could report issues with irregular monthly dues.
Speaking on that, Barua further highlighted that filing a complaint does not guarantee that customers will receive a bill reduction.