Lockdown: Bengal power utilities to bill consumers based on meter reading in year-ago month

As officials of power distribution companies have not been able to visit homes to read electricity meters during the lockdown, the utilities in West Bengal were allowed to send electricity bills for a month based on the consumption in the corresponding period last year, a minister said. "After a deliberation on the issue, it was decided to allow the distribution companies to raise bills based on the consumption of the year-ago month," state power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said.

A section of consumers claimed that this could lead to excess billing. "Once the actual reading will be done, the current bill amount will be adjusted with subsequent demand. Consumers need not to worry," the minister said.

For the energy consumed in April this year and billed in May, the billing will be made on the basis of power consumption of April, 2019, an official explained. The minister urged consumers to pay their electricity bills in time.

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