Hyderabad: The Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL), ignoring its promise of relieving domestic consumers by not including them in the higher tariff bracket.
Residents of Hyderabad have received new electricity bills for the months of March, April and May spent in lockdown. The amounts are nothing less than a shocker for the receivers. The bills mention exorbitant money to be paid in one go, without any exemption.
The Telangana state electricity providing body had earlier advised consumers to pay the same amounts they had paid last year for the months of March, April and May as the company officials aren’t being able to come to everyone’s residences to check the meter readings and generate corresponding bills.
Now, they have released another set of bills which haven’t taken into consideration the change in slab levels. With the lifting of the lockdown, the TSSPDCL has sent bills with amounts, which are doubled and tripled compared to the usual bills, to consumers leaving the residents of Hyderabad shocked and angered as they had already made payments online as told by the body previously.
“Earlier, when the company said that consumers could pay bills generated during the corresponding period of 2019, they were also told that the amount would be adjusted later. We are now making the adjustment,” one of the electricity department’s official was quoted saying.
The department also said that as the lockdown saw people working from home, their electricity expenditure increased and the bills were sent because of it. “Consumption was more during the lockdown period. Many people worked from their homes, and hence, their bills have also shot up,” an official source said.
Talking about the incidents, Telangana Today reported the TSSPDCL Director (Operations) J Srinivasa Reddy saying that the consumers will have to pay the bills which are generated for the cumulative period of three months after adjustments and deductions of what they have paid already, “The company has to survive as the collections have dipped drastically as some consumers were not paying bills due to lockdown even as there was a steep increase in the consumption of power due to lockdown and summer,” he clarified. He further added that compared to March and April, the month of May saw a steep rise in the consumption of electricity.
Stunned consumers took to twitter to raise complains on the issue to the official handle of the TSSPDCL.
“Received huge power bill from TSSPDCL… Miscalculation and don’t care attitude for people.. usual bills 500 rs.. this time 4500 rs.. 9 times.. if u want money put tax , don’t rob like this…,” tweeted one user. https://twitter.com/prabhak25729928/status/1269193214608633856
Another user said “How many of you feel Tsspdcl is on a looting money from the poor during Covid lockdown? Been billed the last year billing cycle value and been asked to pay that money.”
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) criticized the authorities as they sent cumulative bills for the 3 months. They slammed the department for not dividing the bills.
