Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the power distribution companies (DISCOMs) to file counter-affidavits on power tariffs in three weeks.
Hearing a plea seeking to declare the new tariffs purportedly imposed with effect from April 1 as unconstitutional and against the principles of natural justice, Chief Justice J.K. Maheswari and Justice K. Lalitha Kumari directed the DISCOMs to make their position clear within three weeks. The petitioners appealed that the respondents be directed to issue separate bills for the power consumed in March and April and to implement new tariffs after the lockdown.
‘Inflated bills’
It may be noted that the DISCOMs issued inflated electricity bills for March and April saying that meter readings were not taken due to the lockdown and explained it was new slab rate structure that gave the impression that the bills had increased. The Energy Department has denied that the tariffs were jacked up and that it was doing random checking of the bills to ensure there were no discrepancies.
