Bihar Man Hit with Rs 52 Lakh Electricity Charge, Officials Blame ‘Smart’ Meter

Muzaffarpur – In an unusual incident, a resident of Muzaffarpur, Harishankar Maniyari, who works as a medical representative, was left stunned when he received an electricity bill amounting to over Rs 52 lakh. The bill, dated June 27, displayed a whopping Rs 52,43,327 for his household’s electricity consumption.

The incident surfaced when Maniyari’s son informed him that the power to their home had been disconnected. Concerned, Maniyari promptly recharged his electricity account with Rs 500, only to find that the power remained off. Suspecting a billing issue, he downloaded the detailed bill and was shocked to see the outstanding amount.

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Feeling helpless, Maniyari approached the local electricity office to report the issue. In his statement to the media, Maniyari explained, “On June 27, my home’s power was disconnected. When my son informed me about it, I immediately recharged my electricity account with Rs 500, but the power was not restored. Then, I downloaded the bill, and it showed an outstanding amount of over Rs 52 lakh.”

Despite timely payments of his electricity bills and having a patient at home who needs constant care, Maniyari faced a dire situation with no power. “I met the power department’s junior engineer regarding the matter, but the electricity has not been restored yet. I have been paying my bills on time. Despite this, my electricity has not been restored,” he added.

In response to the complaint, Shravan Kumar Thakur, the executive engineer of the power department, clarified that the discrepancy might have occurred due to the transfer of readings from old meters to new smart meters. “Work had been ongoing to install smart meters in Muzaffarpur. The discrepancy might have occurred due to the readings of the old meter getting transferred to the new smart meter,” he stated.

Thakur assured that the error would be corrected soon. He also mentioned that the department is developing a system to detect suspicious electricity bills before they are issued to avoid such issues in the future. “I think there was an error in the bill, it will be corrected. We are also developing a system under which every suspicious electricity bill will first reach the department and the bill will be generated,” he said in response to queries about Maniyari’s inflated bill.

As authorities work to resolve the issue, Maniyari and his family hope for a swift resolution and the restoration of their electricity supply.

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