Inflated power bills irk Ggn residents

Gurugram: Your power consumption bill may just shock you. A large number of residents are facing a major problem of getting inflated power consumption bills from the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN).

Admitting there is a major problem, officials of the electricity boards said it was due to the lapses by the employees of the new agency that has been outsourced the job of metre reading. Even though officials concede their mistakes, it has failed to satisfy most of the angry residents. Many of the consumers who are receiving inflated bills highlight that they have to pay Rs 20,000 to 40,000 because of the blunders committed by DHBVN.

The issue of preparing faulty bills is not a new phenomenon in the city.

Earlier, most of the residents of Sector-56 recently highlighted that their bills were prepared wrongly and thereby refused to pay. Taking note of protests by the citizens, the DHBVN officials conceded that there were mistakes that were committed in preparing the bills.

Taking a corrective measure, it replaced the agency that was outsourced the responsibility of taking the readings from discom and preparing the bill. Residents in the area however claim that not only are the employees careless in their approach but there has also been no action in replacing the faulty discoms even after several requests.

"In Gurugram the rates of power are not cheap. For people of middle- class background the expenses incurred in the power bills really gives you a pinch especially during these months when the rate of power consumption is high," said Ranjan Gulati, a city resident.

"It is imperative that the official must be transparent with the consumer while taking the readings. Because the process is opaque and non transparent, mistakes have started coming out in form of inflated electricity bills provided to citizens," he further said.

"I have no qualms in saying that situation of power in Delhi is better managed than in Gurugram. There is a lack of regulation for power supply in the city. Even as the residents to pay a higher sum for power in the city, the shortage of power during summer months is resulting in the citizen paying an equally higher amount to the generators," said another city resident

Amardeep Singh.