Nagpur: An exorbitant electricity bill of ₹1.44 lakh sent shockwaves through a Besa household in September, reigniting concerns over billing accuracy and meter readings at Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL). The amount was later revised to around ₹13,800 after TOI raised the issue with the utility, but the family has questioned how a residential consumer could be issued such a massive bill in the first place, especially after receiving a similarly inflated bill of nearly ₹1.5 lakh just a month earlier.The consumer, Saransh Chakole, said his family was stunned when it received the September bill of ₹1,44,340 for their residence. The electricity connection, registered in the name of his father, Ramdas Chakole, is a residential LT-I single-phase connection with a sanctioned load of 1 kW. According to Chakole, the family’s average monthly electricity bill is around ₹7,000, making the demand completely inexplicable.Documents accessed by TOI showed that the previous meter reading was recorded at 6,247 units and the current reading at 6,595 units, indicating consumption of 348 units during the billing cycle. Despite this, the system generated a bill of ₹1.44 lakh.The latest bill was not an isolated instance. Chakole said the family had received an electricity bill of nearly ₹1.5 lakh in the previous month as well, prompting him to approach MSEDCL and question the functioning of the smart meter installed.Following his complaint, MSEDCL officials removed the smart meter and took it for testing. According to Chakole, the utility retained the meter for around 15 days before informing him that no fault had been detected and reinstalled it.“They took the meter away for around 15 days and later said there was no fault in it. It was then reinstalled. I have lost faith in the process because despite the meter being checked, I again received a huge bill,” Chakole said.The family’s past payment records reflected significantly lower bills than the amounts recently generated. Electricity charges stood at ₹14,350 in August, ₹20,000 in July, ₹12,320 in May, ₹8,400 in April, ₹3,420 in March and ₹1,970 in February, underscoring the sharp disparity between historical consumption patterns and the disputed bills.After TOI brought the matter to the notice of MSEDCL, the utility reviewed the account and identified an error in the billing process.A senior MSEDCL official said the inflated bill was generated due to a mismatch in the meter reading. “When the matter was brought to our notice, we checked the reading and found that the correct bill amount was around ₹13,800. There was a mismatch in the initial reading, which resulted in the wrong bill being generated. We have now rectified the bill and sent the corrected bill to the consumer,” the official said.Another MSEDCL officer said such reading mismatches can sometimes be linked to technical issues such as faulty earthing. “If the earthing is not proper, then the electricity passed through it is also counted by the meter. If such an issue persists, the consumer should check with the local MSEDCL office and get it repaired,” the official said.While the revised bill has brought immediate relief to the Chakole family, the incident has raised broader concerns about billing safeguards and the verification mechanisms in place to prevent consumers from being issued exorbitant and potentially distressing electricity bills.
