Diwali shocker: Citizens feel the pinch
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Power utilities have thrown a shocker at electricity consumers by billing two FSA (Fuel Surcharge Adjustment) charges in this month’s bill. While the FSA for the first quarter of 2012 reflects 40 per cent of the bill amount for the month of October alone.
The FSA charge levied in the month of October, which has almost doubled the bill amount, will be further inflated in the bill for November.
Apart from this, erroneous billing amounts touching as high as `80,000 have been served to consumers. Five such cases of wrong billings have been presented to the consumer grievances forum in October alone. Inflated power bills have dimmed the festive spirit of consumers.
To add to the woes, the bills do not mention any details regarding the period for which the FSA charges are being collected. Officials said that the charges reflected in the current bill is for the month of October alone and the FSA for the recently approved second quarter of the year will reflect in the next bill. Of the `2,165.98 crore FSA claims, `1,740.20 crore was approved by APERC which is being collected now.
“I got a bill for `985, of which FSA is `437. It does not mention for which month or quarter the FSA is being levied. How will the consumer know if they are charged twice for the same month? This extra amount will upset the monthly budget,” said Vijayalakshmi P., a consumer from Vidyanagar.
Apart from the FSA shocker, consumers have got exorbitant bills that have left them terrified. “I got a bill of `8,000 as against the usual monthly bill of `900 to `1,100. All of a sudden, the bill is showing excessive consumption,” said another consumer,” Navdeep Singh.
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