Shocking ₹355 Crore Electricity Bill Hits Sonipat Resident: Technical Glitch or Massive Scam?

Sonipat (The Uttam Hindu): In a shocking incident in Sonipat, a consumer received a staggering ₹355 crore electricity bill, causing outrage and confusion. The bill, issued to Lavesh Gupta from Ummedgarh village, includes bizarrely high charges, such as ₹134.99 crore for PLE charges, ₹2.99 crore for electricity duty, and ₹4.27 crore for municipal tax, among others.

The detailed breakdown of the enormous bill includes:

>₹33,904 as a fixed charge for 25 days

>₹199.49 crore for energy charges

>₹14.09 crore for fuel surcharge adjustment

>₹134.99 crore for PLE charges

>₹2.99 crore for electricity duty

>₹4.27 crore for municipal tax

Gupta, distressed by the massive bill, immediately contacted the authorities to rectify the error. The power department later clarified that the inflated charges were the result of a technical fault. Gupta's case was one of several errors, with the power department confirming that similar discrepancies were found in other consumers' bills.

In a separate case from Basant Vihar, Saroj Bala received an outrageous ₹78.16 lakh bill, which showed an impossible 9,99,322 units consumed in just two days. The bill also included ₹4.69 lakh in fuel surcharge adjustment, ₹99,932 for electricity duty, and ₹1.51 lakh for municipal tax. After a formal complaint by her son, the bill was corrected to just ₹723.

According to Sachin Dahiya, SDO of the Gannaur Sub-Division, the error occurred in cases where consumers had increased their load. The department has since corrected the bills of 16 affected customers and provided them with updated bills.