The general public and business units in Tamil Nadu have claimed that power costs have abruptly risen in the month of June despite having low consumption due to frequent power outages.
Last May, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board announced that the electricity bill may be paid in three ways because TNEB employees would be unable to visit each home due to the COVID second wave.
According to the announcement, Consumers can pay the amount they paid in May 2019 or the amount they paid in March 2021, or they can calculate their electricity usage and pay the amount themselves. As the number of COVID cases has decreased, TNEB employees have begun to calculate power consumption directly from each home.
In this situation, several customers have claimed that their electricity bills have climbed dramatically despite their modest consumption and frequent power outages during the last three months. A user who was charged ₹ 560 in April 2020 received an electrical bill of ₹ 2506 in June 2021, according to a complaint.
In another such complaint, a daily wage worker who used to receive an electrical bill of roughly ₹ 200 every two months was now given a bill of ₹ 830 for June 2021. The unexpected increase in tariffs by the DMK government is shocking and a significant burden to middle-class families, as many workers lost their jobs during the Corona period.
According to a Coimbatore resident, “We usually pay Rs 300 for our electricity bill, however this month we got Rs 950. There have been frequent power outages in the last three months. Even the government has admitted it. How can we have such a hefty bill when our electricity use is low due to frequent power outages?”
A businessman in Coimbatore who owns a manufacturing unit remarked, “For the month of June, we received a very high electricity bill. We are willing to pay it, but we must have a continuous power supply. How will we be able to run our business and pay our bills if there are regular power outages? In addition, we sometimes have low voltage, which hinders us from using our heavy equipment. Our machines are being harmed by frequent voltage fluctuations. We have never encountered this problem in the last ten years.”
They demanded that the DMK government should take efforts to reduce the bill and provide relief to industries that suffer from regular power disruptions.
Vazhapadi Rama Suganthan, vice president of the Tamil Nadu Congress, has urged the DMK government to clarify the method of calculating electricity bills, alleging that the cost of electricity bills has more than doubled in the last two months across Tamil Nadu.
கடந்த இரண்டு மாதங்களுக்கு கான மின்சார கட்டண தொகை , குறைந்தபட்சம் இரு மடங்கு உயர்ந்துள்ளது, எவ்வாறு கணக்கீடு செய்யப்பட்டது என்று பொதுமக்கள் அனைவரும் குழம்பி உள்ளார்கள் ! தமிழக அரசு இதனை தெளிவுபடுத்த வேண்டுகிறேன் @V_Senthilbalaji @CMOTamilnadu @INCTamilNadu @KS_Alagiri
— 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 (வாழப்பாடி இராம சுகந்தன்) (@vazhapadi) July 17, 2021
Actress Kasthuri claimed on Twitter that she received a ₹500 bill for her flat, which had been closed for three months.
நீங்க வேற. மூணு மாசம் பூட்டி வச்சிருந்த ஃபிளாட்டுக்கு 500 rs bill கட்டுனேன் நானு ! #TNEB #confusions https://t.co/Z8LYmQLi7G
— Kasturi Shankar (@KasthuriShankar) July 17, 2021
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