PANAJI
Higher electricity bills received by Goan households in May have sparked concern that the newly installed 'smart meters' could be the culprit. But officials of the Goa Electricity Department insist the spike is due to increased consumption above the 'sanctioned load' and not faulty technology.
Department engineers argued that many households are drawing power beyond their sanctioned load, making them liable under the Electricity Act to fines for excess consumption.
“Smart meters only record usage. They cannot inflate bills,” said one engineer who did not wish to be identified because he is not officially authorised to speak on the subject.
Consumers, however, remain unconvinced and several have complained that bills have shot up dramatically this month.
“Hugely inflated bills of electricity consumption after smart meter installation, hardly any official in the department is willing to clarify the position… this is the fate of the average Goan,” said noted city architect Tulio de Souza in a Facebook post.
When contacted, de Souza, who is also vice-president of the Opposition Congress party, said although the technical link between higher bills and smart meters may be hard to prove, it is a fact that billing is higher.
"My office has got a bill for a 57-day billing cycle. I don't know why this change from the earlier 30-day cycle. Nonetheless, it is between 25-30 per cent higher than my average bills," de Souza said.
He added that when consumers go to the respective sub-division to enquire, no one in the office is willing to give any explanation.
Another consumer with a complaint of high billing said the department does not have an interface mechanism to clarify concerns and questions raised by the common man with regard to the higher billing.
Reports of higher billing this month have cropped up from across the State, coincidentally when the department has begun fast-tracking the installation of 'smart meters', an ambitious project to install nearly 7 lakh such meters.
So far, Digi-Smart Networks Pvt Ltd, the Jaipur-based company which bagged the tender, has completed the installation of over one lakh smart meters, a position confirmed by Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar.
Dhavalikar, Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes and Superintending Engineer Mayur Hede earlier last week officially refuted the notion that the higher billing was on account of the smart meters.
Instead, they said summer months typically see higher usage due to fans, air-conditioners and refrigerators running longer, and the higher billing is on account of penal fines for consumption over and above the consumer's 'sanctioned load'.
Nonetheless, as the next power consumption bills come in during the fast-approaching month of June, the debate over smart meters and billing sanctity is expected to intensify.
