Rs 11,359 bill for two bulbs and a TV at a Kerala daily wage worker's home

Rajakkad: Two bulbs and a television set are the only things that consume electricity at Rajamma's house. But the native of Rajakkad, the place from where electricity minister M M Mani hails, has got an electricity bill for Rs 11,359 this time – more than 40 times the Rs 292 she paid for the previous bill.

This is a steep amount for a daily wage worker at a cardamom plantation.

The bill has included Rs 5,601 as door-lock (DL) adjustment. Since there was no meter reading during the COVID lockdown, the DL adjustment has been calculated as half of the usage of the last four months, the KSEB said.

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) said the increased bill amount could be due to loss of power caused by wiring problems. When other residents of the area also came with similar complaints, officials said this was being caused by a fault in earth wiring.

The Rajakkad panchayat adjoins minister Mani's panchayat Bison Valley. His elder daughter Sathy Kunjumon is the Rajakkad panchayat president.

We'll solve the problem: KSEB

Domestic users can approach the senior superintendents at section offices to get their complaints redressed and doubts clarified, the KSEB has said.

If consumers are not satisfied with the decisions of senior superintendents, they can escalate the matter to assistant engineer, assistant executive engineer, executive engineer, and the deputy chief engineer.

The increase in electricity bills is due to the reading adjustment, said KSEB. It said that the electricity rate has not been increased. The adjustment was required as meter reading could not be conducted in April due to the lockdown, it said.

The current bills were generated based on the usage of the previous two months, the KSEB said.

This was just an adjustment bill. When the next meter reading is done in two months, one will get the real picture of the usage of the four months till then. The bill that will be generated then will make all necessary adjustments based on the readings obtained then, deputy chief engineer, KSEB, Kottayam, said.

All the 50 section offices in the district will accept user complaints, he said. He said each office has been getting 15 complaints daily on an average.

Establishments to be repaid

The electricity bill amount charged from establishments during the COVID-19 lockdown period will be repaid, Kerala State Electricity Board Chairman N S Pillai said.

The amount will be adjusted in the bills of the coming months, he said.

There have been many complaints that the bill amounts were high during the lockdown period, when the establishments had to remain shut.

The fixed charge will be reduced by 25% and the amount could be paid by December 15, he said.

Pillai said households have not been charged excessively for the lockdown period. As people were forced to stay home, there was an increase in the use of electricity, he said. The bills have been generated on the basis of meter readings, Pillai said.

Tips to reduce your electricity bill

Here are some tips from S Babu John, assistant executive engineer, KSEB, to save electricity at your home:

• Replace filament bulbs, CFL bulbs and tubelights with LED bulbs.

• Buy a fan that consumes less power. There are fans that use about 50-110 Watts of power. 110 Watt ceiling fans also cost less.

• Look at the energy star ratings before buying an electrical equipment. The ratings, issued by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, range from 1 – the least energy efficient, to 5 – the most energy efficient. The ratings are prominently displayed on the packages of the equipment. An equipment with one star consumes three times more energy than a five-star equipment.

• Many believe that 0 Watt bulbs do no consume any power and leave them on all the time. Such bulbs need 10 Watts.

• Keep the clothes ready for ironing before you switch on the plug. Fabric that needs less heat can be ironed first and those that need more heat can be done later.

• Do not overload the mixer grinder.

• When there is not too much food to be stored at night, it is better to switch off the refrigerator for the night.

• When you leave the house, make sure all power equipment are switched off.

• Make it a habit to switch off lights and fans after use.

• The TV will consume electricity if it has been switched off only with the remote. You must turn off the power switch, too.