Bengaluru citizens anxious about irregular power bills

An official added that some consumers might have been billed for consumption on or after June 10, and they should approach Bescom

Citizens are increasingly concerned about power billing, which includes excessive charges, non-receipt of bills, and negative billing by authorities.

Some residents who were supposed to receive their electricity bills before the 10th of the month are worried about the delay and the possibility of higher charges.

"I am worried that I may be moved to a higher billing slab and have to pay more if my reading, which should have been recorded on June 4, is recorded nearly 10 days later. I tried reaching Bescom on 1912, but there has been hardly any response," said Vinod K, a resident of GM Palya, CV Raman Nagar.

Bescom sources attributed the delay to a technical glitch. "Due to the revision of the tariff, there were technical issues in generating bills in a few areas. However, we instructed officials to record the consumption before June 10, and the bills will be generated based on these readings," said a senior Bescom official.

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The official added that some consumers might have been billed for consumption on or after June 10, and they should approach Bescom. "If such issues are reported, we have instructed officials to make necessary corrections," the official stated.

Lower bills cause confusion

While people are concerned about a drastic increase in their electricity bills, a small group of them have received lower than usual bills. In some cases, the bill amount has even turned negative, surprising consumers.

For example, a resident of Malleswaram received a bill amount of Rs -73, leaving him worried about the possibility of a higher bill next month.

However, senior Bescom officials explained that this could be due to the power company paying out an annual interest on the safety deposit, which has reduced the bill amount.

"We usually pay the interest in either April or May, but this year, it's being paid in June. Therefore, those who have received interest amounts higher than their consumption may have a negative bill amount. They need not worry," clarified a senior Bescom official.