Assam TMC Protests Against APDCL Anomalies In Silchar

GUWAHATI: The Assam Trinamool Congress unit led a protest against the Assam Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APDCL) on Friday. They staged the protest in front of the Electricity Office in Silchar of Cachar district.

Members of the Assam TMC protested against the APDCL in retaliation to electricity tariff hikes, smart meter misreading and anomalies in bills.

The authorities of APDCL has been submerged in neck-deep allegations over the issue of electricity bills for the last couple of days.

Rajesh Deb, president of the Assam TMC Cachar district amidst the protest, demanded the authority  to solve the smart meter issue latest by October 10. On failing to do the same, the TMC warned that they will initiate a mass movement against APDCL.

The sit-in protest saw more than 100 ATMC members. Their demands also included the withdrawal of electricity tariff hikes.

A week back the issue of a hike in power tariffs was raised by the public. The government of Assam installed smart meters in houses of Assam and following it the public received bills with high tariffs and faulty billings.

Speaking on the ongoing issue, Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of Assam stated back then that there has not been any power tariffs. He explained that the faulty billings must be a result of faulty readings by the newly launched meters.

The public raised claims that the power tariff went as high as 30 paise per unit.

The Chief Minister instructed the APDCL to fix the faulty smart meters and address public grievances.

On the other hand, Pradip Goswami, the Chief General Manager (PP&D) of the APDCL stated when the issue surfaced for the first time that, the installation of new meters does not result in a hike in electricity bills.

Additionally, he also stated that both the electronic meters and new smart meters function under the same BIS standards for electricity metrology, which is IS 13779. The chief asserted that the increase in electricity consumption as a result of more heat in the months of July and August could have been a possible reason for the hike in electricity bills price.

Also Read: APDCL Invites Tender for Appointment of Amisp for Smart Prepaid Metering - 2022_APDCL_27110_3

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