Amid a growing controversy surrounding Bollywood actress and BJP Mandi parliamentary constituency MP Kangana Ranaut’s electricity bill amounting to Rs 1 lakh, the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) has issued a clarification. Speaking to ANI, Sandeep Kumar, the Managing Director of HPSEBL, addressed Kangana Ranaut’s alleged inflated power bill.
“Kangana Ranaut, the Member of Parliament from Mandi parliamentary constituency, had raised an issue in the media, claiming that the electricity board had sent her a bill of Rs 1 lakh. I would like to clarify that the bill was not of Rs 1 lakh but Rs 91,000 and some hundred rupees,” Kumar stated.

He went on to explain that the amount showing on the bill is not from a single month but rather, a cumulative amount including billing cycles and arrears. As per HPSEBL, Kangana was tardy in clearing her bill from November-December pointing out the delay in paying the January-February bill as well.

Pointing out a mere difference of Rs 9,000 in the Rs 1 lakh billing, the MD pointed out that, “There is an arrear of approximately Rs 31,000 to Rs 32,000, and her bill for 28 days of March alone was around Rs 55,000. Together with other charges, the total came to around Rs 91,000,” he added. He emphasised that had the payments been made on time, the amount would not have appeared as high.

Noting that there was no previous inquiry made in private, Ranaut’s team raised the issue publicly without HPSEBL’s knowledge. The board also confirmed the Rs 700 subsidy applied to the actress’ bill.

Addressing the technical aspects, Kumar stated that Kangana’s connected load is significantly higher than the average domestic user. “Her domestic connection load is 94 kilowatts, which is about 1500% more than the standard domestic meter load.” “In March alone, during 28 days, she consumed around 9,000 units of electricity,” he added.

“The power being consumed is at her residence, and this bill pertains solely to that connection. If there are any other connections in her name, I am not aware of them.” Kumar said.