Residents across the city are complaining of inflated electricity bills this year, with many having received more than double the amount they had paid for the corresponding period last year.
Consumers allege that the problem has intensified since the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) started issuing bills based on average consumption, following the installation of smart meters. They alleged that the slow dispute resolution system of the power corporation has left them in the lurch.
Naren Kaimal, a resident of The Palms condominium in South City-1, said he has received a bill for Rs 38,000, based on average consumption, for a four-month period from July to October. “The reading was taken after 122 days and the bill has been computed at the rate of the highest slab. What if my consumption was less than 800 units in two months? The method of averaging the bills is wrong and if the utility has installed smart meters, then it should be able to extract data on the last day of every month,” said Kaimal, who has made the payment to avoid action.
What has irked consumers like Kaimal, even more, is that the DHBVN’s complaint centre closes the complaint without giving consumers a chance to state their side of the case.
Shakti Singh, the president of Housing Board Colony in Sector 57, which is a colony for below poverty line (BPL) category, said that to get a resolution of their complaints, residents have to take a photo of the electric meter, meet the lineman for verification and then meet the junior engineer, who is mostly unavailable. “Once the faulty bills get verified, then we have to wait in a queue for days to get the problem resolved,” said Singh.
Residents started living in this colony from November 2019 and the problem of inflated electricity bills has caused problems since then. “A resident got a bill of Rs 94,000 and he has been running pillar to post to get this rectified. Officials never turn up to take the reading and the bills are based on assumption alone,” said Singh.
Sachin Yadav, executive engineer, DHBVN said that the issues of wrong billing should not arise as smart meters automatically take the reading. “If the consumers have a problem, then they should submit a representation and we will get the meter tested. If the problems are genuine, then these would be resolved,” he said.
When asked about the matter, Haryana power minister Ranjit Singh Chautala said that the issue has come to his notice and it would be resolved on priority. “Necessary directions to resolve these problems will be issued to the officials concerned. The matters pertaining to consumers must be taken very seriously by the utility,” said Chautala.
While the residents of a majority of colonies complain of inflated bills, residents of Sector 55 are worried because they are being issued bills on a pro-rata basis, as electricity meter readings are not being taken monthly. “Since December last year, we are getting bills on a pro-rata basis of small amounts, whereas the consumption is higher. The majority of the sector residents are apprehensive that the DHBVN will wake up from its slumber suddenly and issue bills based on average, calculated in the highest slab, amounting to lakhs of rupees. How will we pay such a bill at that time in five days or a week?” said Sidharth Gupta, who stays in Sector 55, and has been paying around Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000 per month for electricity use.
Residents of Sushant Lok, Sector 14, Palam Vihar and several other areas raised similar concerns. HS Nanda, former president, Sector 14 RWA, said that after activation of smart meters two months earlier, half of the sector residents had received inflated bills in September. “I don’t know whether the meters are faulty or the calculation is wrong, but charges have doubled compared to last year or a few months earlier. We have raised the matter with authorities concerned,” said Nanda.
Residents of Palam Vihar also said that they will be meeting the DHBVN chief engineer to apprise him of their problems. “The power utility should realise that people don’t have unlimited money. Billing should take place on the basis of usage and if electricity meters are smart, then monthly consumption should be charged and not averaged over months,” said Pawan Bhojwani, a resident of Block A.
Bhim Singh Yadav, the president of Palam Vihar RWA Block A, said that around 10 homeowners, whom he personally knows, are receiving inflated bills. “We will raise the matter with authorities,” he said.
Earlier in July also, HT had reported about complaints raised by residents regarding inflated bills, calculation on average basis and delay in issuance of bills. Residents of Sushant Lok, sectors 46, 47, 56 and 57, and South City-1 had raised similar concerns.
Officials of the DHBVN maintained that smart meters are accurate and tested at different labs for accuracy. They also said that the issue of bills being calculated on average could be due to the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting regular meter readings. “The smart meters are accurate and these are tested. We have installed around 1 lakh (100,000) such meters and it is unlikely that there could be any lacunae in reading made by them. Even then if the consumers have specific complaints, they can write to DHBVN and these can be tested in a laboratory,” said Kulvinder Singh, assistant engineer, Smart Grid project, Gurugram.
Singh also said that there was a perception among residents that the smart meters clock units at a faster pace. “There is no doubt these meters are sensitive and calculate actual usage,” he said.
Vineeta Singh, chief engineer, Smart Grid project, said that the issue of faulty billing was outside their domain. “We are working on installing the Smart Grid system in the city and around 30% has been completed,” she said.
