Consumers should be able to self-check power bills: MERC
MUMBAI: MERC issued diktats to power firms that wherever a bill is more than double that of the average for March-May, consumers should be given the option of paying it in three EMIs.
This followed allegations of inflated bills from consumers, including celebrities. Renuka Shahane tweeted, “Dear @Adani_Elec_Mum I got a bill of Rs5510/= on the 9th of May while in June I got a bill of Rs 29,700 combining May & June where yo’’ve charged me Rs 18080 for the month of May. How did Rs.5510/= become Rs.18080/=?”
Dear @Adani_Elec_Mum I got a bill of Rs5510/= on the 9th of May while in June I got a bill of Rs 29,700 combining… https://t.co/I0quknPjdG
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) 1593352875000
A dedicated help desk or grievance officer should be set up or appointed at sub-division or division levels by the power utilities to ensure that grievances are responded to within a day of receipt, MERC said. It said consumers should be provided an online software utility to self-check bills in terms of units consumed as per meterreading, applicable rate, tariff slab benefits and a comparison with the bill for the corresponding period last year.
