Can you get an electric shock, without touching a wire carrying electricity? If you put this question to the residents of Old Mahabalipuram Road, at least 2,000 of them would answer in the affirmative.
Baffled? That word in fact describes how these residents felt when they received their electricity bills from Tangedco for the June-July cycle. There was a huge and unaccountable surge in the charges.
The discrepancy was noticed in the electricity bills received by residents of Olympia Opaline, Navalur; Radiance Ivy Terrace, Navalur; Navaratna Apartments, RG Housing, Navalur; and Homestead, Padur.
The situation was all the more baffling as many of these residents were away from home during the June-July cycle.
Over two hundred consumers have already made a representation to the respective assistant engineers of Tangedco, individually, seeking an investigation into these anomalies.
The respective Residents Welfare Associations have also taken up the case strongly with Tangedco officials.
Tangedco has however warned them of disconnection, if the bills, even if they were patently wrong, were not paid on the due dates.
The residents sayy that in this area, it is not unusual for the electricity board to delay meter reading and this could have been a factor leading to consumption exceeding the permissible slab rates, thereby attracting higher charges.
It is inexplicable why Tangedco is unable to make necessary arrangements to carry out meter reading every month so that the billing cycle is shorter and the charges incurred by the residents can be paid without much difficulty.
The consumers are hoping that Tangedco authorities will quickly check out the large-scale discrepancies which have already been brought to their notice and provide early relief to the affected.
(R. Ramaswamy is a resident of Elcot Avenue, Sholinganallur)
Tangedco’s response: According to a senior official, the readings were delayed by a week so many residents saw a spike in their bills.
“We have also rearranged the staff, which resulted in this confusion. Many residents have represented the issue to us and we have agreed to sort out the problem, in two weeks’ time.”