TNPDCL orders recheck of 3.7 lakh connections amid complaints of high bills

CHENNAI: Facing mounting complaints from domestic consumers over unusually high electricity bills, the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) has ordered a State-wide re-inspection of 3.7 lakh domestic service connections that recorded a sharp increase in electricity consumption in the July billing cycle.

In a circular issued on Wednesday, TNPDCL Chairman and Managing Director V Arun Roy directed senior officials across all distribution regions to physically verify domestic service connections that showed significant variation in power consumption compared with the previous billing cycle in May.

The re-inspection will be carried out by officials ranging from Chief Engineers to Assistant Engineers. Each category of officer has been assigned a fixed number of service connections for verification, with Assistant Executive Engineers and Accounts Officers in the Revenue Intelligence Squad inspecting up to 150 services each.

The utility has set August 7 as the deadline for completing the inspections and has instructed officials to rectify any billing or assessment errors on the spot, if detected.

TNPDCL sources said the exercise was intended to allay consumer apprehensions over higher electricity bills rather than to launch an enforcement drive.

"We analysed domestic electricity bills for the May and July billing cycles and identified around 3.7 lakh consumers whose power consumption had increased sharply," a senior TNPDCL official said.

According to the official, nearly 15,000 consumers recorded consumption of more than 1,000 units during the latest billing cycle, while around one lakh consumers consumed between 500 and 1,000 units. The remaining consumers fell in the 101-500 units consumption slab.

Officials said the increase in consumption coincided with a prolonged spell of El Niño-induced hot and humid weather across the State. "The prolonged heat has resulted in households using air-conditioners, air coolers and other cooling appliances for longer durations than usual. Naturally, electricity consumption has gone up, leading to higher bills for many consumers," the official said.