‘Rs 600 to Rs 6K’: Davorlim locals protest ‘inflated’ power bills

A delegation of Davorlim villagers led by Sarpanch Menino Colaco raises the issue of inflated power bills with a power official.

MARGAO
As power consumers from the ST-dominated Davorlim village cried foul over inflated power bills, senior power officials on Tuesday attributed the high bills to the penalty imposed by the department on consumers when the demand is more than the sanctioned load.
Power consumers in the village have raised strong objections to what they describe as “inflated” electricity bills, with some residents claiming their monthly charges have increased manifold.
A delegation led by Davorlim Sarpanch Menino Colaco met senior officials of the Electricity Department on Tuesday to seek clarification and relief. The villagers alleged that several households, which earlier received monthly bills of around Rs 600, have now been served bills ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000.
Highlighting the financial distress faced by residents, Colaco said most villagers are agricultural labourers and daily wage earners. “How will these poor farmers support their families if their earnings go towards paying such high power bills?” he asked, urging the department to conduct awareness drives and provide a time frame before enforcing such penalties.
Responding to the concerns, Superintending Engineer Rajeev Samant attributed the sharp increase in bills to penalties imposed for exceeding the sanctioned load. He explained that the department has implemented new demand-based tariff charges for LT consumers as per the JERC order effective November 1 last year.
“If the power demand exceeds the sanctioned load, the excess is recorded by the meter and reflected in the billing,” Samant said. He further clarified that consumers are required to pay a double penalty — one on the additional demand and another on the extra units consumed. However, he said there is a solution.
“Consumers who have increased their contract demand must apply to the department to regularise the enhanced load. Once regularised, the penalty on excess demand will not be levied, and the bill will reflect only the energy charges,” he added.
The department has urged consumers to verify their sanctioned load and complete the regularisation process to avoid future penalties.