A family in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh was in for a shock of their lives when the state government-run power distribution company served the household with an electricity bill of a staggering Rs 3,419 crore. The woes of the consumer, Priyanka Gupta, compounded after her father-in-law, who resides with the consumer and her family, fell seriously ill and had to be hospitalised after they were served the bill with the staggering amount, reported news agency PTI.
Authorities sprang into action as the news of the exorbitant power bill spread and blamed “human error” for the grave lapse. The family, which resides in the Shiv Vihar Colony in the city, was later issued a corrected bill of Rs 1,300, much to their relief.
Speaking to PTI, Gupta’s husband Sanjeev Kankane said his father fell ill after seeing the huge figure on the electricity bill for the domestic consumption for July. He further claimed that the bill, released on July 20, was cross-verified through the portal of the Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company (MPMKVVC), and was found to be correct.
How did the lapse occur?
MPMKVVC general manager Nitin Manglik held human error responsible for the huge power bill and said action has been taken against the employees concerned. According to Manglik, an employee mistakenly entered the consumer number in the field where the number of units consumed during a month is to be entered, resulting in the exhorbitant bill.
“The corrected bill of Rs 1,300 has been issued to the power consumer,” he added.
According to state Energy minister Pradyuman Singh Tomar, the error has since been rectified and action has been initiated against the employee concerned. As per latest reports, a junior engineer has been suspended over the lapse.