With meter readers not being able to do their work due to the lockdown and some apartments not letting them in, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has decided to bill domestic consumers on an average of the previous three months’ consumption.
The monthly electricity bills for April for HT consumers and LT-40 HP (and above) consumers will be as per the actual meter reading. For the remaining categories of consumers, including domestic consumers, the power utility is issuing average bills calculated based on the preceding three months - January, February and March. The bill copy will be sent to the registered email and mobile numbers.
Consumers can also call the Bescom helpline (1912) or the sub-division office to obtain bills or download them from the website of the power utility (www.bescom.org).
The average bill will be subject to revision in May, when two months’ consumption will be billed and proportionately apportioned for each month’s slab billing. The surplus or deficit amount will be adjusted in the subsequent bill based on actual reading of the meter, Bescom officials said.
If consumers see that their average bill is more than the actual consumption, they can self-read the meter and furnish the details through SMS or WhatsApp to the local sub-division office or the helpline.
Bescom officials said that there is no relaxation on the time frame given for bill payment. “Most apartments were not willing to let our meter readers in. So, we decided to calculate the actuals for industries and HT consumers and take the average reading of three months for domestic consumers,” said a senior official. With most industries being closed due to the lockdown, revenue generated from HT industries is expected to go down for Escoms. At the same time, domestic consumption has increased with people being asked to stay indoors and work from home, though the domestic tariffs - being lower than those of HT consumers - may not yield a profit for power utilities, officials added.
Consumers have also been urged to utilise the many online payment options available.