Haphazard power tariff conversions triggers outcry among consumers

Cleared - mani
Chennai: Chitra Devi, a resident of North Chennai, received an electricity bill for Rs 4,156 in Dec last year though her consumption was just 386 units. Under the domestic category, her bill would have been just around Rs 1,150. However, when she inquired with the discom personnel, she was told that her service connection had been converted into the ‘common supply' category, where it costs Rs 8.55 per unit, apart from the fixed charge of Rs 214 per kilowatt of connected load. She tried to explain that it was a house and the power consumption was for domestic purposes, but her argument fell on deaf ears.

It was the same story for D Annadurai too. A few months back he moved into a multi-tenement building in Villivakkam as a tenant. However, since his power bills were way too high, he checked the service connection details and found that it was in the I-E category, a sub-category of ID. He filed a petition with the assistant engineer, but his problem remains unsolved. These are just some of the complaints pouring in from different parts of the city and even districts.
Converting domestic services in multi-tenement premises into common service connections by TNPDCL personnel in a haphazard manner without physical inspection has left many consumers in dismay, as they are shocked by huge power bills they never imagined.
Tangedco had introduced a separate tariff category for common supply connections in apartments and multi-tenements in 2022 and fixed the tariff at Rs 8 per unit, apart from a fixed charge of Rs 200 per kW. Tangedco said it identified about 9 lakh such connections paying charges under the domestic category, causing a loss to the discom. TNERC accepted Tangedco's demands, and a separate category was created.
However, due to a public outcry over the new power tariff category, Tangedco introduced a new sub-category called IE for small apartments and multi-tenements not exceeding three floors, 12 houses, and without lift facilities, where the power tariff was slightly less than the ID category, but the fixed charges remained unchanged.
However, the real conversion of categories did not take place on the ground, resulting in losses to Tangedco. A few months ago, the discom instructed field officers to speed up the conversion, but the conversion has been happening randomly without physical inspection and without keeping the consumers informed, complain consumers. "In the absence of supervision, even genuine domestic services are converted to common supply, and consumers do not know how to rectify the issue," said Alex Ruban, a consumer.
While Tangedco field officers cite a lack of manpower leading to such confusion, senior officials maintained that there was no pressure on the field workers to speed up the conversion. "We have been only merging multiple connections in the same premises to avoid misuse. But the complaints will be looked into," maintained a senior official.
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