Chennai: Residents of Bharathipuram are a worried lot, as their electricity bills have been increasing, with officials failing to take the bi-monthly reading.
R Ramadas, president of Bharathipuram Residents’ Welfare Association, said, “It has been more than three months since EB officials visited our locality to note down the bi-monthly electricity consumption rate. Since they take the reading once in a while, the consumption is high and it goes more than the slab rate. We all have no other option, but to pay the bill.”
Selvakumar, an elderly person, residing in the same locality said, “Usually, I pay around Rs 3,000. But this month, since they did not record the consumption level, I had to pay Rs 11,000. I don’t understand why the bill amount has increased drastically. This system is confusing. The last reading was taken in April. We are paying a huge sum of money, when there is no mistake on our part.”
“Even if we go to the EB office to pay the bill, we are directed from one department to another. The entire process is extremely slow with several complications,” noted Ramadas.
He further added, “We want the officials to regulate the system and ensure that the consumption gets recorded in proper intervals.”