Mysterious arrears in energy payments go away Mohali residents stressed

Anticipating zero energy payments from July, as introduced by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, home customers in Mohali are as a substitute discovering mysterious arrears working as much as ₹10,000 of their payments.

The arrears are listed below “Earlier unpaid invoice arrears”, even when all payments have been paid well timed, say the affected customers.

Left puzzled by the unexplained expenses, customers have been making rounds of PSPCL places of work for clarification, however have didn’t get any cheap solutions.

Complaints on PSPCL’s “consumer-friendly” cell app are additionally evoking no response, amplifying their restlessness.

Gurdev Singh, a resident of Sector 80, who’s in his 70s, mentioned, “I pay my energy invoice commonly and this time, I used to be shocked to obtain a invoice with an unexplained arrear of ₹4,900, bumping up the entire to just about ₹21,000. I went to the PSPCL workplace to have it mounted, however no official entertained me. The cost has handed and I nonetheless haven’t any resolution, which can result in a late cost.”

One other resident of Sector 80, Om Parkash mentioned the newest invoice got here as a impolite shock because it mirrored an arrear of ₹5,200, resulting in a complete of ₹23,000. “On the one hand, the federal government is promising free energy and however, PSPCL is fooling individuals by slipping in mysterious expenses after which giving them the spherical round,” he mentioned.

When contacted PSPCL sub-divisional engineer (SDE), industrial, Dheeraj Kumar, mentioned, “In some payments further safety deposit has been added, which is predicated on the month-to-month consumption. I request customers to report any discrepancy within the payments to the workplace.”

One other senior PSPCL official assured that each one complaints have been being addressed by the suitable personnel, and any complaints relating to payments could be submitted with the SDO workplace involved.

However Sushil Kumar, a resident of Sector 69, who has acquired two consecutive energy payments with inflated arrears, questioned, “Why didn’t the ability division announce publicly about any new expenses or safety deposit earlier than levying it within the payments? Moreover, a safety deposit quantity is already paid on the time of getting the connection and is mirrored on the highest of the invoice each month. Alternatively, these new expenses replicate below ‘unpaid arrears’, so there isn’t any transparency. Worse, until the problem is resolved, the cost date will move and one other arrear for late charge shall be added.”

There are almost 3.5 lakh energy customers in Mohali district, of which 3 lakh fall within the home class, and remaining in industrial and industrial.