Bantwal: Software Defect - Exorbitant Electricity Bills 'Shock' Consumers
 
Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (RD)
 
Bantwal, Jun 4: Believe it or not, a domestic consumer of electricity who was expecting a monthly bill of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 got a 'shock' when the meter reader handed him a bill of Rs 40,000, thanks to the mistakes made by Mescom.

These kinds of errors were reported a few months ago in Dakshina Kannada district. A few of the houses did not get monthly bills while several consumers were issued with bills for huge amounts without any justified usage. Such cases occurred in Puttur, Bantwal, Beltangady, Sullia, and Moodbidri taluks causing hardships to consumers.

Mescom has assigned meter readers to visit houses that have electricity connection and to issue monthly bills regularly. Meanwhile, a Hyderabad-based outsourcing firm that was given contract by Mescom performed these tasks till the end of April. However, the change in the outsourcing firm in the last week of April caused chaos in issuing of electricity bills. The exorbitant bills that a few consumers received gave them a real shock. In a few cases, prompt customers were also penalized for overdue interest and other charges. Mescom sources said that its billing section helpline has received 40–50 calls from such customers.
 
The errors in billing have occurred due to a software problem, say Mescom officers. The Hyderabad-based firm was using a different software while the new contractor from Bangalore had to make certain changes to streamline the billing process. “The problem would have been sorted out by a joint meet by both contractors concerned which has not taken place. It’s likely to be solved by June,” said Mescom Puttur executive engineer Narayan Poojary.
 
Meanwhile, Mescom officials stated that several such discrepancies were solved in Puttur and Bantwal taluks. In case of over billing, the consumers can contact billing section in their locality if any amount was paid in excess and this would be adjusted in future bills, provided they maintain the receipt for further reference.