Himachal Pradesh Businessman Shocked with ₹210,42,08,405 Crore Electricity Bill

Er Mukesh Singh

A ‘technical glitch’ caused the ₹210,42,08,405 crore electricity bill for a Himachal Pradesh businessman, which was later corrected to ₹4,047.

A man in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district was left shocked when he received an electricity bill amounting to over ₹2 billion (₹200 crore). The enormous bill came as a surprise, and the individual, who owns a business, immediately raised concerns with the local electricity department. Upon investigation, officials revealed that the exorbitant bill was the result of a ‘technical glitch’ in the system.

The error led to the incorrect calculation of the total amount due, which was far beyond the man’s actual electricity usage. Once the issue was identified, the authorities swiftly rectified the mistake, reducing the bill to a more reasonable amount of ₹4,047. The businessman, relieved by the correction, thanked the department for resolving the issue, highlighting how technological errors can sometimes lead to unexpected situations.

NDTV reported that Lalit Dhiman, a businessman from Beherwin Jattan village in Himachal Pradesh, was stunned when he received an electricity bill of ₹210,42,08,405 crore for December 2024. This was in stark contrast to the ₹2,500 he had paid for the previous month. The shocking discrepancy prompted Dhiman to contact the electricity department, which later confirmed that the bill was due to a technical glitch. The authorities corrected the error, and the final bill was adjusted to ₹4,047.

Dhiman went to the electricity board to file a complaint, where officials explained that a “technical glitch” was responsible for the inflated electricity bill. The error was promptly rectified, and the bill was reduced to ₹4,047, as reported.

A similar incident took place in Gujarat’s Valsad in November last year, where Muslim Ansari, a tailor, was shocked to receive an electricity bill demanding ₹86.41 lakh. The massive bill was later identified as a result of a technical error.

Ansari, whose shop in Valsad’s Chor Gali receives power from the state-owned Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVC), which serves over 32 lakh consumers across seven districts in south Gujarat, brought the massive ₹86.41 lakh bill to the officials’ attention. The company acknowledged the error and took corrective action.

Upon inspection, authorities discovered that two digits – 1 and 0 – were “mistakenly” added to the meter reading, which resulted in the inflated ₹86.41 lakh bill. The error was corrected, and the bill was revised to ₹1,540. Hitesh Patel, an employee of the power distribution company, explained, “There was a mistake. The person who took the meter reading added the digits 1 and 0 to the reading. We have now given a revised amount.”

According to Ansari, the electricity bill for his shop was typically always under ₹2,000, making the ₹86.41 lakh bill even more surprising and concerning.

Courtesy: bekifaayati

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