After power bill shocker, TANGEDCO asks consumers to use online calculator

Many power consumers in Tamil Nadu are complaining about the high electricity bills that they received in the month of July and August.

State Power Minister Senthil Balaji has said that several lakhs of complaints have been received from consumers on this through Minanagam, the newly launched consumer help portal. Several consumers even took to social media to complain about the high bill.

TANGEDCO officials are stating that the reason behind this high bill is due to higher consumption of power due to summer and dry weather.

TANGEDCO advised the consumers to use the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) website and use the bill calculator on the website to check their bills.

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“The calculator in the TNEB website calculates properly, along with the first 100 units free. Beyond this if there is still any doubt, we are ready to send the calculation to the consumer. We are also ready to check the meter if the consumer has any doubt about the working of the meter,” said a senior TANGEDCO official.

“We are ready to calculate and send the amount through WhatsApp if a consumer has any doubt about the bill. There is no increase in the tariff and the bill is based on the power consumption,” said the official.

“Unlike last year, we did not stop our assessors from taking the meter reading. It is only based on the reading data that the bills are calculated and sent to consumers. This year, the heat, especially in Chennai, is high even in July. People are using air conditioners due to the heat, and hence the consumption is high,” said the official.

The official said the complaints are being received only from the consumers in Chennai. “The power demand in Chennai city is very high, especially during evening time. Demand from air conditioners alone is around 2000MW,” said the official.

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In many areas, residents are complaining that the assessors are not entering the readings in the meter card and, till they enter the details on TANGEDCO website, the consumers are in the dark about the bill.

TANGEDCO said that the Discom is not collecting any extra money apart from what has been consumed. “The calculation of each and every bill is done based on the TNERC regulations. We divide the bill into two and we provide the 100 units subsidy and calculate in every bill,” said the official.

Last year similar complaints of high electricity bills were received and even some cases were filed in the Madras high court.