CESC still working out modalities to revise June bill

The most complicated exercise is to segregate the arrear reading from the June meter reading, the sources said adding the customers realise that the bill has to be averaged as exact segregation is not possible. CESC had faced a barrage of complaints from the customers on the June bill and decided to revise it and collect only the amount for the electricity consumed by its 26 lakh domestic consumers during the month while keeping in abeyance the balance.

Private power utility CESC Ltd is still working out modalities for the revised June bill, which may be finalised by the weekend or early next week, sources in the company said. The most complicated exercise is to segregate the arrear reading from the June meter reading, the sources said adding the customers realise that the bill has to be averaged as exact segregation is not possible.

CESC had faced a barrage of complaints from the customers on the June bill and decided to revise it and collect only the amount for the electricity consumed by its 26 lakh domestic consumers during the month while keeping in abeyance the balance. "CESC had said they will come out with the modalities soon," state Power Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay told PTI.

He said the state government is keeping a close watch on it. CESC sources said various scenarios are being envisaged to gauge the impact on the company's bottomline.

There are questions how the arrears of April and May and in some cases also of March will be collected, they said. Also the collection for the July bills may be pushed back until the settlement of the June bills issue, the sources added.

No formal probe was ordered into the allegations by various power consumer bodies on CESC overcharging its consumers by calculating the bill at higher slab rates and other irregularities..