Did not charge extra, ready to test meters, says APDCL

Guwahati: Amid complaints about an unusual increase in monthly bills after postpaid electricity meters were converted into prepaid ones across the city, the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) on Monday clarified that no extra charge has been levied and said it will facilitate testing of smart meters on spot to the satisfaction of the consumers, if required.
The response of the APDCL came a day after CM Himanta Biswa Sarma instructed the APDCL to set up a control room, where people can lodge complaints, and re-check the pre-paid meters, if necessary.
He said, “Pre-paid meters can be tested if there are complaints. Earlier, in the post-paid meter system, the monthly bills were prepared by taking an average. As it is, pre-paid meters have already been installed in the rural areas as well. A few complaints will be there but APDCL staff can visit the houses of consumers and repair the smart meters.”
APDCL in a press statement said, “Prepaid smart meters don’t lead to increase in electricity bills. Rather, these meters provide insights on daily consumption to encourage consumers to use electricity judiciously according to needs which saves energy. As a part of the central government’s revamp sector scheme, smart prepaid meters are being installed throughout the country, including Assam.”
APDCL managing director Rakesh Kumar said in order to allay the concern of the consumers, APDCL has made provision to install check meters alongside the smart meter to compare consumption. He added that the consumers can insist on installing check meters alongside the smart meter by contacting the sub-division offices concerned.
The MD also said the consumers can also monitor their daily power consumption by installing mobile app “myBijulee” in their smartphones and bring any discrepancy in consumption to his notice.
The APDCL also opened a helpline number — 1912 — for the consumers for any query or confusion regarding the postpaid to prepaid conversion and the billing. A forum of graduate engineers had urged APDCL to clarify its stand on the allegation of unusual increase in power bills after shifting to a prepaid bill paying system. The forum stated that the process of changing conventional electro-mechanical meters (with a rotating aluminium disc) to electronic (digital/smart) meters with an LCD or LED display must not record more energy consumption (to increase the monthly bills) .