PSPCL pulled up for sending consumer inflated bills of Rs 6.99 lakh

In a glaring lapse of meter handling and billing oversight, the Corporate Consumers Grievances Redressal Forum has pulled up Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) for burdening a Jalandhar consumer with an inflated electricity bills of Rs 6.99 lakh during a four-month period of erratic meter readings.

The case was filed by Udham Chand Saroa, on behalf of consumer Chakshu Saroa, who holds a 10.44 kilowatt domestic supply connection under PSPCL’s Cantt Division in Jalandhar.

The dispute began after the consumer was issued a bill dated July 30, 2025, for 15,294 units consumed within just 50 days (June 10 to July 30) amounting to Rs 1.43 lakh. This was a sharp spike compared to the family’s usual monthly consumption which ranged between 200 and 700 units in previous months.

Despite the consumer repeatedly flagging abnormal readings, the billing pattern continued to escalate. On October 14, 2025, the PSPCL issued another bill reflecting 59,223 units, pushing the total demand to Rs 6.99 lakh, including arrears. The consumer maintained that the meter had malfunctioned and he had already submitted a written request for its replacement.

However, the meter was replaced only on October 15, more than two months after the initial complaint. By then, the reading had shot up to 1,77,885 units. Although the meter was declared “ok” in the department's technical lab, officials admitted that no data download could be carried out due to the absence of an optical port, leaving the abnormal spike unexplained.

With no relief from the department and the disputed amount continuing to reflect in his account, the consumer approached the redressal forum in January, seeking quashing of the inflated bills and revision of his account.

On examining past records, the forum found that the household’s annual consumption between 2021 and 2024 ranged between 3,430 and 8,127 units. In stark contrast, last year consumption jumped to 77,425 units, largely due to the disputed readings.

After installation of a new smart meter, the average monthly consumption dropped to 339 units, reinforcing the forum’s finding that the earlier meter had behaved abnormally and the excessive billing could not be sustained.

Observing that such abnormal consumption had never been recorded before or after the disputed period, the forum held that the meter was to be treated as defective under regulation 39.4(ii) of the Supply Code 2024.

In its final order dated January 28, the forum concluded that the bills issued from June 10 to October 15, 2025, were liable to be quashed along with all late payment surcharge and interest. It directed the PSPCL to overhaul the consumer’s account for the disputed period as per the prescribed regulatory provisions.