EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Apr 25: Even as pathetic power supply has already irked Jammuites, who have come out openly against deteriorating power conditions in the city, in addition, people are also left fuming with faulty electricity bills.
A large number of people could be witnessed at the Power Development Department office in the Janipur area of the city to make enquiries with regard to inflated power bills.
A woman, who visited the PDD office in Janipur for correction of electricity bills that have jumped manifold in comparison to what she was getting routinely in the past giving her enough reasons to worry.
“The bill of January is showing units consumed on a higher side even though the Air Conditioners, fans and other appliances are not used at all,” she said.
“I received the bill showing our monthly consumption at more than 1700 units which is shocking for us. Normally, our bills show consumption of 300-350 units on an average. Where do we lodge a complaint? Nobody from the department is ready to listen to our woes,” she added.
She is not alone as reports of inflated bills have poured from various pockets of the city, most of them failing to settle the arrears that have been claimed to be settled by the power consumers.
Faulty reading of electric meters along with irregular distribution of electricity bills are adding to the woes of the denizens, who are already reeling under unscheduled power curtailments in different parts of the city.
Consumers alleged that meter readings in several electricity bills generated were “faulty” and the hike in bill amount had nothing to do with actual consumption.
“It is an indiscriminate increase; you can expect a hike of Rs 600-700 for an average monthly billing of Rs 1500-2000. How can you get a bill of Rs 8000? It is beyond my understanding,” a consumer said. |
