ELECTRICITY BILL DISPUTE COMPLAINT
Complaint about an electricity bill
Date: 1 April 2026, at Ludhiana
I am sending this by registered post with acknowledgement due. I am also emailing a copy to sdo.modeltown@licensee.example.com.
To: The Sub-Divisional Officer, Operation Sub-Division, Model Town, Ludhiana, Model Town, Ludhiana 141002
From: Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, House No. 88, Urban Estate Phase 2, Patiala 147002 (email gurpreet.dhillon@example.com, telephone +91 98150 47731)
Subject: Dispute of the bill for October 2026 on account ending 7741
Sir or Madam,
- 1. What this is. This is my complaint to you, made for the first time about this bill.
- 2. My connection. I am the consumer on account number 3001234567, connection in the name of the sender, supplied by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited.
- 3. The bill. I dispute the bill dated 12 October 2026 for the period 1 August to 30 September 2026, which shows ₹38,460 (Rupees Thirty Eight Thousand Four Hundred and Sixty only) payable. The amount I dispute is ₹31,200 (Rupees Thirty One Thousand Two Hundred only).
- 4. Why it is wrong. The bill shows 4,120 units for two months, against about 450 units in each of the same months last year. The meter reading on the bill, 18,342, is higher than the reading I photographed on 30 September 2026, which was 14,872. I have paid the part of the bill that I do not dispute.
- 5. What I have already done. I complained at the sub-division office on 14 October 2026 and on the helpline on 20 October 2026, complaint number 5530917. A meter test was promised but not done. For the Forum or the Ombudsman, add the Forum's order and its date.
- 6. What I require. Test the meter in my presence, recast the bill on the actual consumption, withdraw the excess amount and any late charges on it, and refund or adjust anything I have overpaid. Please also tell me in writing what you have done and the name of the officer handling this, and do not disconnect my supply for the disputed amount while this complaint is pending, as the electricity law protects a consumer who disputes a bill in the way it provides.
- 7. If it is not put right. If the bill is not corrected, I will take the matter to the next forum the electricity law provides, and I may also approach the District Consumer Commission, and I will ask for a refund, interest, compensation and costs. This letter does not waive any of my rights.
ENCLOSURES
- 1. The bill dated 12 October 2026. 2. Photograph of the meter reading of 30 September 2026. 3. My earlier complaint and its number. 4. Bills for the same months of last year.
LEGAL BASIS
Punjab and Chandigarh: The Electricity Act, 2003 requires every distribution licensee to set up a forum for redressal of consumer grievances (section 42(5)) and provides for an Electricity Ombudsman to hear a consumer who is not satisfied with the forum's order (section 42(6)). The rules that govern how a complaint is made to the forum and the Ombudsman, the time limits and any amount to be deposited are made by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission for the licensee's area and are for the consumer to confirm in the licensee's current notice. The Act also limits disconnection for non-payment where the consumer pays under protest or deposits as the Act provides (section 56). A licensee's service to a consumer may also be a service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. No fee is payable on this letter.