Revised electricity bill yet to reach customers

Mangaluru: Although revised electricity prices have been implemented in MECOM and other ESCOM limits, it is doubtful if the new bills will reach the customers this month. Meanwhile, the customers’ fear that the pending charges may be charged all of sudden, leaving a nasty shock to their wallets.

The new charges were implemented on April 1^st and the additional charges will be added to the present bill of the customers.  But in order to provide the revised bills, the software needs to be updated and other technical preparations need to be completed. Hence, the dispatch of the electricity bills for the month of May within Mescom limits may be delayed by 15 to 20 days. At a few places, bills have been dispatched based on the previous charges.

There is a possibility that those customers who have not yet received the present month bill may get the bills with revised charges in a couple of weeks or else, the pending amount or the variance may be charged in the upcoming bill of the next month. Since the revised charges have been implemented since April 1^st, the variance amount charged for the months of April-May and the bill of May-June are being given separately, inform Mescom sources to Udayavani.

The software update within Mangaluru city has mostly completed. The conversion is being undertaken in rural areas. The bill for May-June month being provided now contains the revised charges. The bill for the price variance for April-May month needs a little more time and may be dispatched by the end of June, explain Mescom sources.

How much has the charges increased, how?

Customers are confused of the revised charges. Even though it has been informed that the price per unit has been increased by 33 paisa, there is a fear that a huge bill might come. The revised bill is so: A earlier house which was using 300 units of electricity used to get a bill of Rs 2,192, and according to the revised charges the bill amount shall be Rs 2,304. In other words, the amount will increase by Rs 112 in comparison to the earlier bill. Similarly, an industrial unit with 10hp capacity, making use of 1,500 units of power, earlier used to get a bill of Rs 10,365. Now, as per the revised charges the bill amount will be Rs 10,764, which translates into an increased burden of Rs 399 for the customer!

If the bill does not come in June, then it could become a burden for the customers. The final amount could become big, if a single bill comes with the increased charges of April and May as well as the charges of the month of May. If the bill is not provided in June also then it will definitely become immense. It will be a burden for the common folk.

“The charge for low tension industrial connection has been increased at a very minimal rate of only 15 paisa per unit. For all the remaining division, the prices have been increased from 20 to 25 paisa per unit. For all the division of the low tension and high tension, decision has been taken to increase the price by approximately 33 paisa for every Rs 10 per unit of KVA/HP/KWA. We believe that this increase will not put much of a burden on the customers,” said Snehal R, Managing Director, Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM)