Electricity bills doubled-tripled in June for the same customer with the same usage on a prepaid meter!

❐ BD Digest Desk

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Although electricity consumption is almost the same as before, a large section of consumers in different parts of the country are complaining that their electricity bills have doubled to tripled in June. In particular, there have been complaints that recharge money in prepaid meters is running out abnormally quickly and that post-paid meters are being billed for more units than the actual consumption. This has put middle-class and low-income families under severe financial pressure.

The Electricity Department has directed all electricity distribution agencies and companies in the country to investigate the complaint and take necessary action. It has also urged affected customers to report their complaints to the local electricity office or the designated hotline.

Although prepaid meters are considered a relatively transparent system, these customers have also raised complaints. Many complain that damaged or faulty prepaid meters in various areas of the capital have not been repaired for a long time, resulting in more money being deducted than the actual usage.

Ibrahim Mondal, a resident of the capital’s Badda area, said, “I have never had to recharge more than 3,000 taka in the last three-four months. But in June, I spent about 5,300 taka.”

Nayan Akhter, a resident of Mirpur Kazipara, made a similar complaint. He said, “Last May, I was able to last a month with a recharge of 1,500 taka, but in June I spent around 2,700 taka.”

In this regard, Dhaka Electricity Supply PLC (DESCO) Chief Engineer (Network Operations) Manjurul Haque said, “Due to changes in electricity tariffs and slabs, bills are increasing rapidly due to the use of more units. Apart from this, the increased use of ACs and other electrical appliances due to excessive heat is also a reason for the increase in bills. Due to this, the bills of many may double compared to before.”

He added, “It is not right to call it a ‘ghost bill’. A ghost bill refers to a bill where a bill of Tk 5,000 suddenly becomes Tk 50,000. However, if any unusual problem or complaint is found in any meter, the authorities will investigate it and take necessary action.”

Complaints from post-paid customers are more

Currently, out of the approximately 50 million electricity consumers in the country, about 5.5 million use prepaid meters. The remaining large number of consumers are still dependent on post-paid meters.

According to those concerned, the most complaints of irregularities are in the case of post-paid customers. In many areas, meter readings are not taken regularly—in some places, readings are taken for two months at a time, while in others, bills are prepared based on estimates. As a result, there is a large discrepancy between the bill and the actual electricity consumption.

The most common complaints about excessive bills are against rural electricity associations.

According to those concerned, system losses are relatively high in rural areas due to long power lines, low-quality components, and lack of maintenance. Complaints of additional bills are often raised to compensate for those losses or to balance income and expenditure.

Customers complain that people in villages file relatively few complaints, which creates more opportunities for irregularities in their case.

About 72,000 consumers under the Ishwarganj Palli Bidyut Samity in Mymensingh are suffering from the pain of ‘ghostly’ electricity bills. They claim that they are being subjected to extreme suffering as they are being billed based on estimates instead of collecting actual meter readings at the field level.

Some customers, including Md. Ashraf, Shariful Hasan, Idris Ali, Sajeda Khatun, Hosne Ara, Pipul Das, who came to the Ishwarganj Zonal Office to receive services, said that bills are being prepared as per the wishes of the office and that for two months, many customers have received bills three to four times more than their normal bills.

Not only residential but also commercial customers are facing the same problem. Small traders in the upazila have complained that it has become difficult to run their businesses as the electricity bills of their shops have increased several times.

Responding to a question about whether bills are made according to the information provided by field-level meter readers, Lutfa Begum, the supervisor in charge of the billing section, said, “Billing is also made according to the field information, and the instructions of the DGM sir are also followed.”

Pias Karim, a rural electricity customer from Pathanpara area of ​​Melandah upazila in Jamalpur, said, “Usually my electricity bill is between 500 and 600 taka. But last May, the bill was more than 1,000 taka. When I went to the rural electricity office, the employees said that electricity was used more, which is why the bill was higher.”

Abul Fazal, a resident of Hazrabari Municipality, said, “I have two rural electricity meters in my house. One meter used to have a bill of 200 to 300 taka, but in May it came to 900 taka. The other meter used to have a bill of 900 to 1,000 taka, but now the bill has come to 1,900 taka.”

Several field employees of various rural electricity associations, on condition of anonymity, said that at the end of the fiscal year, there is pressure to reconcile revenue and accounts. In many cases, there is unwritten pressure to prepare bills by showing additional units. Even if it is later reconciled, if the customer moves to a higher tariff slab due to the additional units, the extra money is not refunded.

In this regard, Power Department Secretary Mirana Mahrukh has already ordered the distribution companies to quickly investigate the complaint and take necessary action.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit also said that arrangements have been made to receive complaints at every electricity office and instructions have been given to resolve the complaints of the victims.

In this regard, consumer rights organization CAB’s energy advisor Professor Dr. M Shamsul Alam said, “Imposing additional bills on customers in the name of reducing system losses is in no way acceptable.”

He believes that to increase accountability in the electricity sector, the meter reading and billing system must be made completely technology-based, and it is important to store images of meter readings, provide online verification opportunities, and introduce an independent monitoring system.