Bills come late, inflate power charges with fines, higher slab
Gurgaon: Residents of sectors 22 and 23 have complained that for the past nine months, they have been receiving their electricity bills only a couple of days before the due date, making it difficult for them to meet the deadline and having to pay fines as a result. Some residents also saw a sinister motive behind the delay. They said the delay caused the bill to be aggregated over a longer period, pushing it into a higher rate bracket because of the additional consumption.
They blamed delay in the meter reading for the late delivery of bills. “Generally, delay in meter reading is responsible for the delay. Officials are always late by 4-5 days. Why should consumers pay for what is clearly the discom’s fault?” said Harish Rawat, a resident of Sector 23.
“How can Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) expect a consumer to run out and pay the bill on the due date, if the bill is delivered so late? A lot of people living in these two sectors are retired. It’s not easy for them to pay the bill the day it reaches them,” said 65-year-old Sarla Thukral, who lives in Sector 22.
Almost 40% residents have paid penalty on bills because of late delivery, said the RWA president.
“Most residents get bills 2-3 days before due date. Not many people can pay bills within such short notice, resulting in fines being imposed. I think about 40% of consumers, have paid penalty on their bills,” said S S Yadav, RWA president of Sector 23.
Dr Y S Khurana, a resident of Sector 23A, said, “Once the consumption for the bill cycle crosses 800 units, it falls under the higher rate bracket, at Rs 6 per unit. This leads to inflated bills.”
