Consumers confused by discrepancies in online and physical Bescom bills, but official explains why

Highly inflated bills, wrong billing cycles and discrepancies between online and physical bills are some of the problems. 

With the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) trying to implement the retrospective tariff hike and the collection of Fuel and Power Purchase Cost Adjustment (FPPCA) charges, consumers have observed multiple issues in their bills. Highly inflated bills, wrong billing cycles and discrepancies between online and physical bills are some of the problems. 

Pashupati D., a resident of Kasturi Nagar in Bengaluru. had observed that his consumption pattern remained a constant 301 units for around five months after a digital meter was installed at his house. However, he was taken aback when his June bill showed that he had to pay around ₹16,000 to Bescom. The billing period was from December 2022 to June 2023.  

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He had also noticed that while the physical bill showed that he had consumed over 1,800 units in six months, the online bill was showing that he had consumed the same number of units in just two months.

“This was the case at all houses in our apartment. When someone from the apartment went to the Bescom office and demanded an explanation, they scribbled ₹5,083 on the bill and told them to pay up. At that time, I checked the Bescom Mitra app. In my case too, the amount had changed to ₹5,083. Now, the app keeps showing some arrears, which sometimes disappears and then reappears,” he explained. 

When his July bill too was unusually high, he paid a visit to the Bescom office where officials informed that there was a bug in the software, which led to miscalculation of the Fixed Charge. 

A senior Bescom official, however, denied any glitch. “It might be a one-of-its-kind case. There is no bug in the software,” he said. The official also said that consumers should check the payable amount on the online app, two days after the generation of physical bill, to get accurate numbers.