Consumer Council President Awadhesh Kumar Verma said that in the name of messages and disconnecting and adding connections, the electricity corporations have now adopted a strategy to earn Rs 4.40 crore every month from consumers.
– Photo : Amar Ujala
Expansion
The Power Corporation has filed a reply in the Electricity Regulatory Commission regarding the matter of charging Rs. 50 for connecting and disconnecting the connection of smart prepaid meter. The Consumer Council has called this charge illegal. Council President Awadhesh Kumar Verma said that in the name of messages and disconnecting and connecting connections, the power corporations have now adopted a strategy to earn Rs. 4.40 crores every month from consumers.
Actually, the electricity corporations had proposed to charge Rs. 10 per SMS sent to disconnect the supply after the balance in the smart prepaid meter is exhausted and Rs. 50 per message for connecting and disconnecting the connection. After the objection of the Consumer Council on this, the Regulatory Commission had sought a reply from the Power Corporation. In response to this, the corporation has argued that government undertakings, banks and financial institutions also charge for SMS.
Expressing objection to this, the President of the Consumer Council said that the fee for connecting and disconnecting the connection in the smart prepaid meter should be zero. Because every month about 3.50 lakh connections are disconnected in all the corporations due to non-payment. This number is sure to increase in the future. In this way, the electricity corporations have made a strategy to earn 4.40 crore rupees every month from the consumers.
