Misconception or Deception on monthly/ Bimonthly billing by Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs)

The author has been coming across views from several electricity consumers across the country that the electricity utilities or distribution companies (DISCOMs) are deceiving the consumers by sending the electricity bills on bimonthly basis. It is true that the domestic consumers are to be charged for electricity consumption by the DISCOMs as per rules and regulations mandated by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) as under provisions of Electricity Act,2003. The power tariffs are fixed/approved on annually or biannually basis by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commission and therefore the rates per unit basis are different in various states. 

Now there is a misconception commonly prevailing among consumers that the electricity bill would be double if charged on bimonthly basis than charged on monthly basis. This misconception is prevailing not limited to any specific city/town or State or rural and urban areas but is prevailing across the country. 

An attempt is being made in this article to remove such thinking of the consumers about prevailing concept that the bills are being generated at much higher rates if charged on bimonthly basis. 

As per prevailing practices of tariff fixation, the rates per unit are charged in various slabs, the lower the slab, the lower the rates per unit. It has also got an upper limit of the consumption beyond which the consumer does not get any slab advantage and whole of the consumption is charged at fixed rate which is much higher than the lowest slabs. It is those kind of consumers whose consumption exceeds such limits are usually being charged more. 

These slabs are divided in slabs of  units per month consumption basis usually a month of 30 days. The slabs are taken on pro-rata basis based on number of days for which consumption of electricity is being charged.  

This is where the consumer is getting confused and think that the slab is for entire bill of two month or so and feels that the distribution companies are deceiving the consumers. Had the bill charged for 30 days, he/she would have paid less amount. The author himself has shown practically that the deception being felt by the consumers is not so as they feel suggesting there is a need for consumer education and awareness by the distribution companies. Say, if the slab of x units is chargeable at Rs. 2/- per unit then the number of units chargeable at Rs. 2/- for a consumption of 60 days bill would be 2x. Next slab would start after 2x units and not x units as explained in following table considering the tariff rates prevailing in Haryana during 2019-20 with following presumptions as stated in the illustrative table.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Power Tariff_Haryana_2019-20
Slab Classification (monthly units)	Units	Unit Rate	Amount (Rs.)
0-150	150	4.5	675
151-250	100	5.25	525
251-500	250	6.3	1575
501-800	300	7.1	2130
801+	801	7.1	5687.1

	Monthly Bill				Total Payment for 2 months on monthly bill basis	Bimonthly Bill Amount
	Month1	Bill 1	Month2	Bill 2	Amount	Bimonthly Slab Units	Amount (Rs.)
Case 1	800	4905	800	4905	9810	1600	9810
Case 2	700	4195	800	4905	9100	1500	9100
Case 3	700	4195	900	6390	10585	1600	9810
Case 4	750	4550	900	6390	10940	1650	11715

Observation 

Case 1 and 2: Where the unit consumption is less that the highest flat basis slab rates whether the bill is raised on monthly basis or bimonthly basis.

Case 3: where one of the month has consumption less than flat slab rates and the second months consumption exceed the flat slab rates but combined consumption of two months is within the eligibility of the slab rates. 

Case 4: where one of the months consumption is less than flat rate slab and the second month consumption is exceeding the flat rates and also combined two months consumption also exceeds flat rates units. 

As can be seen from the above, the bill in case of 1, and 2 is just the same whether it is raised on monthly basis or bimonthly basis.  In the case of 3, the consumer is at advantage as the bimonthly bill is less than two single month billing. The consumer in case of 4 is at financial loss if the combined two months consumption exceeds the flat rate slab. Another situation could be where the individual monthly consumption also exceeds the flat rate consumption and this category of the consumer would not be affected at all and bill would be exactly same whether charged on monthly basis or bimonthly basis. In case of 3, the DISCOMs are at financial loss and in case of 4, the consumers are at financial loss. In that case for such category of consumers, the monthly billing would find acceptance. However, if the State Electricity Regulatory Commission feels to remove flat rate ceiling/ slab, then the bimonthly billing would be more acceptable with practically no consumer feeling of paying more than actual. 

With sufficiency in generation capacity of electricity now, the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions may consider of removing slab rate system of lower rates for less consumption and higher rates as the consumption goes up. The general and traditional practices of marketing always involves reducing the prices with increasing the quantity. of this post is of the view that such anomalies as in case of 3 and 4 shall always remain unless an alternative form of billing is invented.  In the considered opinion keeping in view case No. 3 and 4, there could not be any other solution as 100% consumers can not be satisfied at all the times. Overall DISCOMs are also not always at an advantage of collecting more amount from all the consumers. 

Recommendation 

The correctness of the meter reading is utmost important for consumer confidence. There could be enormous burden on the consumer if the bimonthly reading has an error of even a single unit. A single unit recorded in the case 1 in the bimonthly billing cycle could deceive the consumer by more than Rs. 1500/- and such difference could encourage to deceptive trade practices of the DISCOMs. There is a strong need to dissuade the DISCOMs to record wrong readings willfully. There is a need of having such mechanism in place including penalties onto the DISCOM and/ or the meter reader as another channel for corrupt practices could also emerge. The consumer may be immediately informed instantaneously through SMS in an auto mode of the recording of the meter reading. Consumer on receipt of the SMS will be at liberty to cross verify in case the consumer is interested.  If found manipulated or otherwise even in a single instance of complaint, the action may be penal action need to be taken against the meter readers and the penalty need to be paid to the complainant consumer.