With the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) trying to implement the retrospective tariff hike and the collection of Fuel and Power Purchase Cost Adjustment (FPPCA) charges, consumers have observed multiple issues in their bills. Highly inflated bills, wrong billing cycles, and discrepancies between online and physical bills are some of the problems.
Pashupati D., a resident of Kasturinagar in Bengaluru, had observed that his consumption pattern remained constant at 301 units for around five months after a digital meter was installed. However, he was taken aback when his June bill showed that he had to pay around ₹16,000 to Bescom. The billing period was from December 2022 to June 2023.
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He had also noticed that while the physical bill showed that he had consumed over 1,800 units in six months, the online bill was showing that he had consumed the same number of units in just two months.
“This was the case at all houses in our apartment. When someone from the apartment went to the Bescom office and demanded an explanation, they scribbled ₹5,083 on the bill and told them to pay up. At that time, I checked the Bescom Mitra app. In my case also, the amount had changed to ₹5,083. Now, the app keeps showing some arrears, which sometimes disappears and then reappears,” he explained.
When his July bill too was unusually high, he paid a visit to the Bescom office, where officials informed him that there was a bug in the software, which led to miscalculation of the Fixed Charge.
A senior Bescom official, however, denied any glitch. “It might be a one-of-a-kind case. There is no bug in the software,” he said. The official also said that consumers should check the payable amount on the online app, two days after the generation of physical bill, to get accurate numbers.
Ashwath P., a resident of Hebbal in Bengaluru, said the Bescom Mitra app showed that the dues for the month of June were ₹190 even though his usual bill is over ₹1,000. When the physical bill arrived, the total amount payable was over ₹1,000. “But, the total amount in my physical bill was lower than usual,” he said.
Like him, many other consumers have also been confused by the ‘credits and adjustment’ category, which has come up in their electricity bills with amounts ranging anywhere between ₹100 and ₹200.
Explanation on discrepancies in bill by Bescom MD
Mahantesh Bilagi, Managing Director, Bescom, told The Hindu, “This category is appearing because of the backend adjustments of FPPCA. There were some arrears of FPPCA and FCA from the month of January. The same is calculated by the 29th of every month and adjusted in the backend, which is reflected in the online app. If the consumers pay this amount before the physical bill is generated, then it will be subtracted from the total.”
