Electricity consumers in Rowmari Upazila of Kurigram have alleged inflated and inaccurate bills, prolonged load-shedding, low voltage and harassment by officials of the Rowmari Zonal Office under Jamalpur Palli Bidyut Samity.
Residents said meter readings were often recorded incorrectly or bills prepared on estimates, while complaints were not addressed promptly. Some bills also contained errors in customers’ names and addresses.
Rowmari reportedly faces 16 to 18 hours of load-shedding on many days, while consumers complain of low voltage even when electricity is available. Residents said the situation was disrupting irrigation, businesses, vehicle charging, household appliances and students’ studies.
Sheikh Farid of Chuliarchar said his July bill showed a meter reading of 8,380 and the August bill 8,480, although the meter currently showed only 8,230.
He said the deadline for paying the bill with a late fee was 8 September, but the bill was delivered only on the afternoon of 7 September. His complaint over the discrepancy remained unresolved even after five days.
Nahidul Haque Nahid, owner of Salam Enterprise near Rowmari Upazila Headquarters, said his meter had stopped recording readings for nearly six months. The March bill showed a reading of 830, while the August bill charged Tk1,278 without mentioning any reading.
He alleged that the zonal office had continued issuing estimated bills without informing him that the meter was faulty.
Hajizur Rahman Tuhin of Notanpara said a storm snapped the cable connecting his home meter. After contacting the zonal office on 27 July, he was told a new cable would be installed.
He paid Tk2,157 in office fees on 30 July, but alleged that after prolonged harassment officials eventually reinstalled an old cable. Although he was promised a new cable once supplies arrived, it has yet to be replaced.
Babul Mia of Collegepara said his meter reading remained unchanged for around one and a half years, during which he paid a fixed monthly bill of Tk298. The meter was replaced about four months ago following repeated complaints, but the bills continue to show Tk298 although the new meter reading now stands at 175.
A worker at a mobile phone tower in Chaktabari, who requested anonymity, said he applied for a new connection on 19 July and was initially told the meter would be installed on 26 August.
He alleged that after being made to wait at the office from 10am to 5pm on 24 August, the installation was repeatedly postponed. Officials later told him a capacitor was required although it had not been included in the demand note. The connection was eventually provided on 5 September.
Residents of Baraikandi, Dantbhanga, Char Shaulmari, Baikamari and Shaulmari said frequent outages and low voltage were spoiling fish, meat and vegetables stored in refrigerators, while some appliances had also been damaged.
Electric auto-rickshaw, van and borak drivers said they could not fully charge their vehicles because of the power shortages, cutting their daily earnings.
Auto-van driver Mafuzal said the vehicle was his only source of income and that reduced earnings had made it difficult to support his four children, younger brother and mother or pay his daughter’s school and private tuition fees.
Hafizur, who runs an engineering workshop, said outages lasting 16 to 18 hours and low voltage were preventing him from providing timely services to customers although he still had to pay workers’ wages, resulting in heavy monthly losses.
Guardian Alam Mia said electricity frequently went out during evening study hours and returned around 9pm or 9:15pm, only to disappear again after an hour or two. He said power went on and off three to four times on many nights.
The manager of Adarsha Diagnostic Centre said the facility frequently had to run a generator to provide medical services, pushing operating costs sharply higher.
Rowmari Zonal Office Deputy General Manager Delwar Hossain said Rowmari and Rajibpur together require about 18 megawatts of electricity but receive only eight to nine megawatts, leading to frequent load-shedding.
Asked about inaccurate electricity bills, he said faulty meters could cause such problems.
He said when a meter stopped recording readings, bills were prepared on the basis of a customer’s previous average consumption.
“This may benefit a customer or may cause a loss,” he said.
However, he could not give a clear response when asked about allegations that consumer complaints were being ignored and customers harassed.
Jamalpur Palli Bidyut Samity Assistant General Manager for Finance and Revenue Shahida Akter said she was in Dhaka preparing for a departmental examination and would comment later.
Repeated calls to Jamalpur Palli Bidyut Samity Acting General Manager Md Shahidul Islam went unanswered.
