No Charge for due Electricity Bill until July 31

The Government has extended the time period for payment of the due electricity bill until 31 July without a 5 per cent late fee, known as a surcharge.

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced in a circular on Thursday that household consumers will be able to pay the due electricity bills for the months of February to June free of charge until 31 July.

The BERC had already exempted residential clients from paying a 5% surcharge on late payment in February, March and April.

The Ministry agreed to suspend the fine until June regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 8, the power division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources sent a letter to the commission seeking waiver of the delay fee for the month of June as cases began to surge in the country.

The letter said many were unable to pay all their bills by June due to suffering from extra bills. As a result, the power division informed BERC to waive the fines till July 31 for the consumers.

The Commission stated that it would order a waiver only if the licensing distribution companies applied. As a consequence of the delivery firms submitting one by one, an order was released today on the basis of their applications.

Although customers will receive the discount until 31 July, they will be able to send the bills to the bank without delay until 30 July, as the day-31 July-falls on Friday. If anyone wishes to pay the bills on July 31, they will have the option to pay the bill by BKash or some other related means.

Ghost bill in June 

Amid the outcry of consumers about the ghost electricity billing since the pandemic started, more allegations are pouring that household consumers are still receiving ghost bills in June, although Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) and Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) claimed they prepared bills of May after checking metre readings going door-to-door.

Concerning authorities labelled the mistakes as 'official', which will be rectified as a routine work.

While drawing the attention of Power Secretary Sultan Ahmed about the ghost billing in June, he said, "No consumer will have to bear a single penny for these mistakes. We will adjust it with due process."