Nizamabad Residents Say Electricity Bills Now Exceed Rent

Electricity consumers in North Telangana are at the receiving end as the power bills give them a rude shock. Consumers in the Nizamabad district are getting inflated bills with extraordinary development charges. And, these exorbitant electricity bills have become a cause for a tussle between the tenants and house owners. Tenants are blaming the house owners for installing sub-standard electricity meters for the inflated power bills. 

Exorbitant electricity bill complaints

When these consumers rushed to the nearby electricity offices, the officials said there was no negligence on their part while noting the meter reading and generating power bills. Consumers seemed to be in no mood to agree with the explanation given by the officials. Claiming earlier they would get the electricity bills in hundreds, consumers argued with the electricity board officials. 

Tenants argue with owners over bills

Stating High Load, the electricity department is charging extra charges for each household anywhere between Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000. Adding to the development charges, each consumer is being made to pay between Rs 200 to Rs 400 as a security deposit. The electricity charges are more than the rent being paid by us, they rued. A resident of New Housing Board Colony said he had been living in his 3 bedroom flat for the last 2 years and the power bill amount was somewhere between Rs 300 to Rs 400. Surprisingly, this month the electricity bill showed Rs 3,440 as charges. The exorbitant power bills are leading to differences between the tenants and house owners.

An explanation for inflated power bills

To clarify, the electricity officials said if an excess reading is shown on your meter, it means power consumption has been increased. Giving an explanation for exorbitant power bills, the electricity department said, for a single-phase connection, 2 Kilowatt (KW) is the minimum load to be contracted, and for a three-phase connection, 3 KW is the minimum load. 

As more households have started using AC, refrigerator, water heater, geysers and fans etc, consumers are connecting up to 5 KW of loads on a single KW resulting in an increase in load of meter. This will put pressure on transmission of power and supplies as existing lines cannot hold the increased consumption load. To cope up with this, new power lines need to be laid and therefore, the development charges and security deposits are being collected.