Govt run-company blamed “human error”
The Madhya Pradesh government-run power company blamed “human error” and issued a new bill of ₹ 1,300, much to the relief of the worried Gupta family, who are residents of Shiv Vihar Colony in the city.
Gupta’s husband Sanjeev Kankane said his father fell ill after seeing the huge figure on the electricity bill for the domestic consumption for July.
The bill, released on July 20, was cross-verified through the portal of the Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company (MPMKVVC) but was found to be correct, he claimed. The state power company later corrected the bill, said Kankane.
How did it happen?
MPMKVVC general manager Nitin Manglik said it was a human error. He also informed that action had been taken against the employees concerned.
“An employee entered the consumer number in place of the units consumed in the software, resulting in the bill with a higher amount. The corrected bill of ₹1,300 has been issued to the power consumer,” he said.
MP Energy Minister Pradyuman Singh Tomar told reporters that the error had been rectified. He said action would be taken against the employee concerned.
Similar cases in the past
In 2019, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur was left shocked after the Power Corporation sent him an electricity bill of Rs 128 crore.
Shamim, who lived with his wife Khairu Nisha said they only used a fan and light at home and was clueless about how he was sent an astronomical amount as a bill. What was even worse is that since Shamim had not paid the due amount, the authorities had cut his connection.
Similarly, in 2016, a Gurugram resident, Colonel (retired) Praveen Uberoi, who lived in Sushant Lok, got a rude shock when he received an electricity bill of Rs 26 lakh for September-October.
“There is no way my electricity consumption could have shot up as much, even if I kept all my ACs running all the time,” a visibly upset Uberoi, who lived in Block A of the society had said.
