Hyderabad: The Central Power Distribution Company of AP Ltd has been ordered to pay the electricity bills of S. Vikram Kumar, a resident of Indranagar, as compensation for overcharging him and then cutting off his power supply when he stopped paying the inflated bills.
The complainant said that he moved into his house in November 2009, and in December he received a bill of Rs 3,555, which was abnormally high for domestic consumption. He paid the amount on December 26 and asked the officials of the electricity board to verify his meter readings. However, no action was taken.
The complainant said that he continued to clear the bills until August 2010, when he received a bill of nearly Rs 6,000. When he approached the electricity board, they threatened to cut off his power supply if he refused to pay the bill. His electricity connection was cut off for more than a week.
The opposite party, contended that the complainant had not paid his electricity bills for the period from January 2011 to March 2011. They added then when the complainant’s meter was sent to the MRT Lab, the report stated that meter was working properly.
The forum noted that there was insufficient evidence to prove that there had been an abnormal usage of electricity on the complainant’s part, and therefore the high bills were most likely due to defective meter readings.
The forum ruled in favour of the complainant and asked the opposite party to collect charges for an average of 175 units per month for the period from November 2009 to May 2011 and adjust the amount already paid by the complainant against future bills.
