Najit Mishra holds up the power bill for September. Picture by Arup Sarkar

Durgapur, Nov. 6: A small rice trader in Durgapur whose electricity bills have never exceeded Rs 750 a month has received bills averaging Rs 4 lakh in the past three months from the state power utility.

The West Bengal State Electricity Development Company Ltd (WBSEDCL) has asked Najit Mishra, 45, to pay the entire Rs 13 lakh by November 8 or else his power connection would be snapped.

According to a power utility official, if a consumer appeals against a bill, he or she is asked to first clear it before being called to a hearing to check if the amount was erroneous.

Mishra, who has been living in a one-storey house in Salbagan for the past 40 years and runs a small shop from home, said: “In July, I received an electricity bill of Rs 4,68,476. I was astonished. I went to the local WBSEDCL office and asked the officials how this could be possible. I showed them my earlier bills, which has never exceeded Rs 750 a month.

“The officials asked me to pay the amount before they take my complaint and call me for a settlement hearing. I could not pay such a huge amount as I am a small trader and earn not more than Rs 10,000 a month. I have my wife, daughter and elderly father to look after.”

The next month, Mishra got a bill of Rs 4,69,403 and in September the amount was Rs 5,04,419. He has a commercial connection and receives electricity bills every month.

“I have approached the local power utility officials several times and told them that it would not be possible for me to pay Rs 13 lakh, that too for power I have not consumed. But they told me that if I did not clear the bills by November 8, my connection would be snapped. They said I had defaulted for three months,” Mishra said.

A senior WBSEDCL official in Durgapur said the exceptionally high bill amounts could be because of a “technical error”. “What is more astonishing is that he received such amounts for three months in a row. But Mishra will have to pay the due amount before we do something for him. He will have to lodge a complaint with us, following which we will call him for a settlement hearing,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

A WBSEDCL official in Calcutta said if a person with an average monthly bill of Rs 750 suddenly got a bill in excess of Rs 4 lakh, “there must be something wrong”. “I will enquire about the matter. The consumer won’t have to immediately pay such a huge amount. Let us first check the bills and find out what exactly has happened,” he said.

Bidyut Mandal, the Trinamul councillor of the ward where Mishra lives, said: “I know about the unfortunate incident. It is absurd. Mishra could not have consumed so much electricity. I will try to help him.”