POWER BILLING ERRORS IN CITY
Excess billing, online bill payments not being updated and online payments not being refunded
Numerous irregularities in the city’s electricity billing system have surfaced. Reports of excess billing, online bill payments not being updated, and online payments not being refunded have been received by the board. Consumers making online payments have found that their bills are being marked as unpaid. Many have failed to take note of this until officials have turned up to disconnect their connections. Deccan Chronicle spoke to residents from various localities to find out the extent of the problem. R.T. Rao from Erramanzil said, “The Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) recently changed the ERO code without informing the public. As a result, people are unable to re-register their service numbers on the TSSPDCL website or on the e-Seva.” Complaints on nonupdating was reported at Secunderabad TSSPDCL division.“I utilise the electronic clearance system (ECS). For the bill in September, the payment was deducted through ECS. But it wasn’t updated in the TSSPDCL system. I turned a defaulter despite paying,” noted Ms Sumathi Desai of Secunderabad. A new circle has been created, called Secunderabad Cantonment division, with three subdivisions. The authorities claimed that it is a temporary problem.
Pavan Kanth of Kukatpally said that he had been billed excessive amounts for three consecutive months. “I was shocked to receive a bill of around `500 for July, August and September. I was out of town, with my family, and the house was locked for ten days. We usually get a bill of around `100 to `200, but for the past few months we have been billed double that amount,” he said
Bhavesh V., a resident of Friends Colony in Chandanagar, said, “For the past couple of months our TSSPDCL bills have not been generated on time, and so we end up having to pay additional amounts.”
CONSUMERS MAKING ONLINE PAYMENTS HAVE FOUND THAT THEIR BILLS ARE BEING MARKED AS UNPAID.