High charges on electric pre-paid billing

Prepaid electric card system was launched in Gandaria area of Dhaka around the last quarter of 2017. It replaced the old billing system, but the charges on this new system are quite expensive and difficult. Also, the subscribers need to regularly monitor if credit is there in the metre. Otherwise, the power connection ceases till the bill is paid.

The Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd. (DESCO) has signed deal with Chinese Hexing Company for implementation of the new billing system. The charges are realised in the following manner:

a) Demand charge is Taka 25 per unit of sanctioned power load. If a connection has 3 kilowatt (kw) power load, Tk 75 is realised.

b) An additional charge of Tk 40 is realised per month along with VAT.

c) A customer with sanctioned power load of 10 kw has to pay Tk 300 as demand charge along with Tk 250 as metre rent under three-phase power connection, plus VAT.

These are all heavy charges.

As for the metre rent, no one has any idea when this rent period for metres will end. Customers should be informed about these details.

Card recharging is another problem as the office of Hexing is located on the third floor of a building at Shamibag. There are five service counters with a separate lady counter. But there are no separate counters for the senior citizens. As such, older people suffer a lot while standing in long queues just to recharge the prepaid cards.

DESCO should reconsider these charges in the greater interest of subscribers. They should also take steps so that the payment of electricity bills becomes easy for subscribers irrespective of ages, classes and genders.

A suffering service recipient

Distillery Road, Gandaria, Dhaka