KOPPAL: A 90-year-old woman residing in a tiny shed at Bhagyanagar in Koppal taluk had the shock of her life when she received an electricity bill of Rs 1 lakh recently even though she uses only one light bulb. Officials, however, acknowledged later that the excess bill was generated due to an error in meter reading.
Girijamma, who struggles to make both ends meet, was in tears after getting a bill to the tune of Rs 1,03,315 for May.
She told reporters that she used to get Rs 70 or Rs 80electricity bill every month. Following her appeal, energy minister KJ George on Thursday asked Girijamma not to pay the bill.
He said: "The amount mentioned in the bill is wrong and it had happened due to a glitch in the meter. She doesn’t have to pay the bill."
Following his statement, officials from the Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (Gescom) rushed to her house.
Executive engineer Rajesh inspected the power meter and confirmed that it was a technical glitch.
The inflated bill was generated due to an error by the staff and the bill collector.