Consumer court to MSEDCL: Compensate for wrong bill

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Jalna cancelled the alleged inaccurate monthly power bill issued to a consumer and also a compensation amount of Rs4,000 for mental and physical distress and the complaint cost amount of Rs4,000.The complainant had an average monthly consumption of around 200 to 300 units, but he suddenly received an unreasonable electricity bill of 1,735 units in May 2022. Even before that, he had been allegedly given incorrect bills of an average of 800 units from May 2021 to April 2022.Upset, the complainant sought redressal checking of his electricity meter from the state power utility with an official report claimed to have found the meter faulty.As the MSEDCL failed to take corrective measures, the consumer approached the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission through advocate Mahesh Dhannawat claiming shortcomings in the state power utility's service.During the hearing before the consumer court, the MSEDCL claimed that the applicant is not its customer but the complainant produced a sale deed to prove that he purchased the house from an earlier consumer. Referring to the inspection report of the electricity meter, the court observed the meter was crimped.Even after such a finding, the MSEDCL had taken no action for the possible tampering with the meter. Apart from this, the MSEDCL officials have mentioned in the report that the meter body and seal among other parameters were in good condition. "The non-applicant has not made any disclosure about what exactly the word (crimp) used in the report means or in what context it was used or what action was taken in case the meter was crimped. Not only this, the said meter inspection report has not been mentioned in the written statement filed by the non-applicant (MSEDCL), therefore the said report is not credible," the court said, in its ruling dated March 4.It added, "Considering the average electricity consumption of the applicant, after the meter was replaced, we are of the opinion that the electricity consumption of 1735 units shown in May 2022 is an artificial inflated figure created by earlier incorrect estimates of payments and we are of the opinion that cancellation of the said payments is necessary to protect the interest of the consumer."Stating that it is the duty of the MSEDCL to take accurate records as per the actual electricity consumption of the consumer, the court chaired by Aparna Kate with Uday Dalvi and Santosh Nikule as its members, said the state power utility has not properly discharged its duty and it is a breach of duty in the service of the consumer.