Bescom gets 80K complaints of excess billing after digital meters installed

BENGALURU: Power consumers in Bengaluru have raised 80,000 complaints with Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Bescom) regarding excessive billing ever since the installation of digital meters.

Under the January 2022 Bescom Pilot Project, the new digital meters were installed in many places. The consumers complained that their power bills had increased by a whopping 30 to 50 percent. Bescom has replaced 10 lakh electro-mechanical meters with digital meters and plans to install seven lakh meters in the city this year.

A power consumer in the city

“With the electro-mechanical meter, the power bill was lower,  but after the installation of the digital meter, it has increased by about 50 per cent. The billing from a digital meter should be less, but it has only increased. The Bescom has installed 10 lakh meters and of that 80,000 complaints have been raised by consumers over excessive billing. Without resolving the issue, the Bescom officials have now planned to install seven lakh more digital meters across the city. The officials should take necessary action in this regard”, said a power consumer.