Guwahati: Amid complaints about unusually high monthly power bills and faulty prepaid meters, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that he would direct the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) to set up a control room where the complaints of consumers can be lodged and issues addressed.
“Pre-paid meters can be tested if there are complaints. Earlier, in the post-paid meter system, the monthly bills were prepared by taking an average. However, now I will instruct APDCL to set up a control room where people can lodge complaints and also re-check the pre-paid meters,” the chief minister informed media persons.
“As it is, pre-paid meters have already been installed in the rural areas as well. A few complaints will be there but APDCL staff can visit the houses of consumers and repair the smart meters,” Sarma said.
“At times, mechanical adjustments are needed and complaints should be lodged so that APDCL can address the issues,” the chief minister said.
“Recently, there was an all-India survey indicating that power consumers in Assam are the most satisfied,” the chief minister added.
Meanwhile, expressing concern over the alleged unusual increase of monthly electricity charges after shifting to a prepaid bill-paying system, a forum of graduate engineers has urged APDCL to clarify its stand as the process of changing conventional electro-mechanical meters (with a rotating aluminium disc) to electronic (digital/smart) meters with an LCD or LED display must not record more energy consumption (to increase the monthly bills) at any cost.
“All Assam Engineer’s Association (AAEA), while supporting the new technology as preferred by many countries across the globe with an aim to reduce energy losses, urges the APDCL to enlighten the consumers about the new prepaid system such as a cell phone or DTH recharge,” a statement issued here on Sunday said.
“The consumers here actually buy their required energy units in advance and once the balance amount turns zero, the power supply will be automatically cut off. In simple terms, the balance amount keeps reducing after consumption of every unit of energy,” the association said.
In India, one unit of electricity is defined as a one-kilowatt hour (meaning energy consumed by the appliances totalling 1000 watts for one hour.)
“The consumers should get an alert when their account balances reach a low level. They can insist on putting LED bulbs and judiciously use heavy energy appliances such as iron, dyers, heaters, heavy old fans, air conditioners etc,” said AAEA president Kailash Sarma.
Notably, the electricity prices for household consumption remain moderate in India, whereas Iran, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Zimbabwe, Bhutan, Egypt, Burma, Cuba, Ghana, Laos, Argentina, Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Russia charge lower energy prices.
India is followed by UAE, Vietnam, China, Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, Mauritius, Norway, Maldives, Cambodia, South Africa, Israel, Brazil, Romania, USA, Philippines, New Zealand, France, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Sweden, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark, etc, with higher electricity prices.
EASTMOJO PREMIUM
Help sustain honest journalism.
“India, being the third largest producer of electricity in the world, depends on fossil fuels (mostly coal and gas) and the government is looking for alternate (renewable) energy sources to feed the billion-plus nation. The country has witnessed an increase in per capita electricity consumption in recent years. To keep up the momentum, AAEA appealed to the APDCL management to simplify the guidelines for installing household solar units for the benefit of consumers, so that they can use the supplied electricity according to their needs only,” the association stated.
Also Read | Modi to launch projects worth Rs 8,500-crore in Assam: Himanta