West Bengal

Paschim Midnapore

CC/18/2015

Sri Amarjit Mahapatra - Complainant(s)

Versus

The Station Manager, WBSEDCL. - Opp.Party(s)

22 Jul 2015

ORDER

                                                             DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM

PASCHIM MEDINIPUR.

                             

Bibekananda Pramanik, President, Mrs. Debi Sengupta, Member

                                             and Kapot Chattopadhyay, Member.                                              

                                                        

Sri Amarjit Mahapatra……………….………Complainant

Versus

The Station Manager, Nimpura

Customer Care Centre, WBSEDCL…….……..Opp. Party.

 

Complaint Case No.18/2015

 

For the Complainant : Mr. Dilip Kumar Bhattacharya, Advocate.

For the O.P.              : Mr. Swapan Kumar Bhattacharya, Advocate.

 

Decided on: - 22/07/2015

                               

ORDER

          Bibekananda Pramanik, President- Facts of the case in brief is that the complainant is a consumer of the OP-W.B.S.E.D.C.L., under service area Nimpura Customer Care Centre vide Consumer I.D. No. 200058197, Meter No. T1239244 and he has been paying electric bill regularly as per his meter reading to the Opp-Party. On 01/11/2014, when the representative of the Opp-Party was taking meter reading, then it was found that there was no display of reading in his meter. Seeing that, the complainant filed a written complaint before the Opp-Party on 21/11/2014 praying for changing the said defective meter in his premises. It is stated that the Opp-Party sent the electric bill on 15/11/2014 showing estimated unit as 56 and previous reading was 2644 as on 15/11/2014 and total reading as 2700. Although there was no display in the meter of the complainant but the       Opp-Party took meter reading on 02/02/2015 and sent a bill on 11/02/2015 to the complainant showing estimated unit of consumption as 1752 unit. Said bill is baseless and not according to actual consumption. To get the actual unit of consumption, proper meter reading should be taken and a new bill should be prepared. The complainant requested the Opp-Party to change his defective meter and to prepare proper bill, but the Opp-Party did not pay any heed to such request.  It is

Contd…………..P/2

 

-(2)-

contended that Opp-Party sent the said bill amounting to Rs.13,858/- and threatened the complainant that if he does not deposit  the amount of bill, his electric connection will be disconnected. Hence the complaint, praying for an order directing the Opp-Party to change the electric meter and to correct the inflated electric bill dated 11/02/2015 and to prepare correct bill according to actual consumption and for other reliefs, as per prayer of the petition of complaint.  

Opp-Party has contested this case by filing a W/O. Denying and disputing the case of the complainant, it is the specific case of the Opp-Party that as there was no display of meter reading so, the bill in question was generated with the estimated unit of 1752 as per rules of ‘estimation logic’ of WBSEDCL. It is claimed that the bill is fit, proper and justified and the complainant did not pay the said bill there by violating the terms and conditions of the Electricity Act. As such the Opp-Party has every right to disconnect the electric line. Opp-Party has further contended that there was no deficiency in service on the part of the Opp-Party. Opp-Party therefore claims dismissal of the complaint case.

 

Point for decision

                        

Is the complainant entitled to the reliefs, as prayed for?

 

Decision with reasons

                      At the very outset, it is to be mentioned here that neither the complainant nor the Opp-Party adduced any sort of evidence in support of their case but they have relied upon some documents, so filed by them. It is not denied and disputed that the complainant is a bonafide consumer of the Opp-Party under the Electricity Act and his Consumer I.D. No. is 200058197 and meter no. is T1239244. It is also not denied and disputed that the meter in question was not displaying meter reading of consumption. Admittedly, the Opp-Party sent a bill of Rs.13,558/- showing consumption of 1752 unit. According to Electricity Act, if a meter is not read due to inaccessibility, consumer shall be charged provisionally on basis of average consumption for the last six months or consumption of similar period of the last year. Here in the present case, we find from three money receipts dated 13/05/2014, 18/08/2014 and 21/11/2014 regarding payment of electricity bill for the month of May, 2014 to July, 2014, August, 2014 to October, 2014 and November, 2014 to January, 2015 respectively that average bill amount per month for consumption of electricity for the last nine months was Rs.146/- per month. From the disputed bill in question dated 11/02/2015, we find that the Opp-Party has claimed a total sum of Rs.13,858/- towards consumption of electricity for the month of February, March and April, 2015 showing estimated unit as 1752 which means that the Opp-Party has sent the said bill there by claiming average amount

Contd………….P/3

 

                                             - ( 3 ) -

of Rs.4,619/-  per month for aforesaid period towards cost of consumption of electricity. We have already stated that from the previous bills of electricity for the last nine months, it is found that Rs.146/- (average) per month was charged and paid in connection with the said domestic meter. It thus appears that the disputed bill in question is nothing but an inflated, absurd and baseless bill and it requires to be prepared afresh as per average consumption of last six months. Therefore, we are of the view that the complaint case should be allowed.     

                                          Hence, it is,

                                                Ordered,

                                             that the case be and the same is allowed  on contest with cost. O.P.-Station Manager, Nimpura Customer Care Centre, WBSEDCL is hereby directed to  change the electric meter of the complainant and to issue fresh electric bill  for the disputed bill period as per average consumption of last six months after treating the disputed bill dated 11/02/2015 as cancelled and to pay  Rs.5,000/- as compensation to the complainant. O.P. is also hereby restrained from disconnecting electric connection of the complainant for non-payment of the disputed bill dated 11/02/2015.         

Dictated & Corrected by me

              Sd/-                                 Sd/-                        Sd/-                             Sd/-

         President                           Member                   Member                       President

                                                                                                               District Forum

                                                                                                            Paschim Medinipur