Inflated bills over defective EB meters rankle consumers

CHENNAI: Contrary to the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Consumer (TNERC) Supply Code, consumers are often taken for a ride by Tangedco when their domestic electricity meter becomes faulty.

They are made to pay high bills even during the monsoon and winter months. Officials charge them based on their consumption during the summer months.

N Vigneshwaran, a consumer, took to social media tagging Tangedco’s official handle to seek clarification on how the bills were calculated for a defective meter. “Due to some issue in my EB meter, they calculated reading by average for 2 months which fell in the highest. How should it be fair? Normally, in summer, consumption is high but in winter, it’s low,” he posed on X (formerly known as Twitter). He said that he was billed Rs 5,600 for this billing cycle while he had never crossed Rs 2,000 in winter.

Tangedco’s official handle claimed that the EB bill was calculated by taking the average of maximum two calculations of the previous year’s usage as per the Electricity Board norms.

It looked like the person handling Tangedco’s social media was not aware of the TNERC’s supply code, which makes it clear that Tangedco should replace the meter within 30 days if it receives a complaint from the consumer or finds the meter incorrect or defective or burnt.

The code under section 11(2) states that in case of a meter-defect, the quantity of the electricity supplied during the period should be determined by taking the average of the electricity supplied in the preceding 4 months. But the rider for such a calculation is that the (weather) conditions regarding the use of electricity during those 4 months were not different from those which prevailed during the period in question.

The pattern of energy consumption varies according to the weather conditions. Usually, energy consumption would be high during the summer seasons and would reduce during the monsoon and winter months.

In case of variation in the weather conditions regarding the use of electricity during the period, article (5) of the code states that assessment “shall be made based on any consecutive 4 month-period during the preceding 12 months, when the condition of working was similar to those in the period covered by the billing”.

V Arunraj of Alandur said that the meter at his residence has been faulty for the past 4 months and is yet to be replaced. “I’m being charged based on the average of the previous bills. I don’t know why it takes so long to replace a faulty meter?” he wondered.

Unaware of the regulations, most consumers end up paying the inflated bill. Few consumers who moved the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum against excess billing and non-replacement of defective meters had gotten their meters replaced within days after the petition filing.

Coimbatore Consumer Cause Secretary K Kathirmathiyon said that the bills should not be raised based on the highest bills of preceding months. “Many people have gone to CGRF to get a refund. Lack of consumer awareness is the main reason. Even officials are not aware of the TNERC norms,” he said.

A senior Tangedco official said, “If the EB bill is not commensurate with the energy consumption which is based on seasonal variation, consumers should take it up with the officials in the section office who should rectify it.”