With the resentment brewing among a large section of power consumers over the high bills in the last two months, the Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APEPDCL) has said that the complaints are misleading.
The electricity revenue offices of the distribution company were flooded with complaints of ‘excessive bills’. The Discom, which has jurisdiction over Viskahapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and twin Godavari districts, is saying that there has been no increase in the tariff .
‘Additional burden’
While admitting that the consumption had gone up during the lockdown as many people are working from home, CITU State president Ch. Narsinga Rao said that the middle class people were moved to the 500 plus unit slab, forcing them to pay more. “Considering the pandemic-induced misery, the authorities should issue the bills based on the average consumption in February.
“There is resentment all over. The authorities should not tax the consumers with hefty bills when they are reeling under the problems owing to the pandemic,” said N. Ramachandra Rao, honorary president of HPCL Visakh Refinery Contract Workers’ Union.
Meanwhile, APEPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Nagalakshmi Selvarajan has denied the allegations that the Discom is fleecing the consumers.
“Meter readings could not be done in April due to the pandemic. This month, meter readings were taken for two months—April and May. The readings were taken in May for 60 days of usage for the months of March, April and May. But when it comes spot billing system, the total for two-month usage is not counted as a single bill. Monthly consumption was calculated by dividing the total consumption by two,” she clarified.
Pro rata policy
She further said that slabs were divided as per the pro rata policy. Since the April bill was not issued, the consumers will have to pay the same bill as a temporary bill for April.
According to the CMD, the amount of the provisional bill for April was excluded from the bill calculated in three parts. The remaining amount was now paid as May and April. “It is completely untrue to say that billing was done in higher slab based on two-month consumption,” she said.
Bill calculations can also be found on the Customer Service Number on the website. This can be confirmed by submitting the bill to the offices of the nearest distribution companies or to the authorities concerned.