The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has initiated legal action against Puttegowda, who circulated a video on social media saying that Bescom is cheating consumers by charging extra in its bills.
The man had alleged that the company had no authority to collect fixed charges and levy Fuel Adjustment Cost (FAC) on consumers. In a press release issued on Thursday, Bescom urged its consumers to not pay heed to such baseless and false information.
“The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has fixed ₹100 for onekilo watt and ₹220 for two kilowatts of electricity as fixed charges. This charge is not imposed on the electricity consumed by the consumers. Even if they do not use electricity, the consumers should pay the fixed charges. The fixed charges are collected to cover the costs of connection, supply, and basic resource management of electricity which is borne by Bescom,” said Mahantesh Bilagi, Managing Director, Bescom.
He further said that FAC is also fixed by the KERC based on the purchasing costs of coal and that these costs will be revised by the KERC every three months. He also explained how several other costs which are mentioned in the video are being collected rightfully as per regulations of the government.
“Without obtaining proper information from the officials about the electricity bill, this person is misleading the public by hiding reality. I have directed legal action against him,” Mr. Bilagi said.
The same person had created a similar false video about the payment of electricity bills four months ago and despite receiving warnings from Bescom against such behaviour, he has repeated the same, the officials said.
