INDUS HOSPITAL Vs. HPSEB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of the present complaint, Indus Hospital professing itself to be charitable organisation registered with the Registrar of Societies in Himachal Pradesh and being sponsored and operated by the Indus Medical Foundation on No Profit No Loss basis the complaint having been filed through its duly authorised Administrator Shri Jiwan Singh, has challenged the consumer bill for the month of May, 2000 vide copy Annexure C -7 on the record. The impugned bill has been issued by the opposite parties being the H.P. State Electricity Board through its Secretary and the Assistant Engineer, Electrical Sub Division, HPSEB, Sanjauli.

(2.) IT is stated in the complaint that the said Hospital applied for 245.00 KV of connected load from the opposite parties in the year 1993 which was sanctioned by them and the requisite amount was deposited for this purpose and the subsequent electricity bills were being also duly paid. It is further stated that on the asking of the opposite parties, the complainant installed its own private electricity meter after purchasing it from a Firm in Delhi and the same was checked by the concerned officials of the opposite parties for its correctness and sealed as per the law, rules and regulations governing the supply of electricity to a consumer in the State of Himachal Pradesh. A Satisfaction note was obtained in this behalf from the then Administrator on 24.9.1993.

(3.) ON an average the complainant -Hospital was receiving monthly electricity bills amounting to Rs. 17,000/ - and the same were being duly paid by the due dates. However, in the month of February, 2000, it received an excessive bill in the sum of Rs. 39,492/ - (Annexure C -1) which was also paid, but a protest was lodged with opposite party No. 2 by sending a communication dated 7.3.2000 (Annexure C -2) giving details of other bills with effect from January, 1999 to January, 2000 and opposite party No. 2 was requested to examine disputed bill and issue the correct bill. Instead of doing the same, an average bill of Rs. 17,747/ - for the month of March, 2000 (Annexure C -3) was again issued which was also paid. Subsequently, for the month of April, 2000, a bill in the huge sum of Rs. 1,60,397/ - (Annexure C -4) was issued. The reason for this sudden spurt in the amount of the power bill as communicated vide a letter dated 16.3.2000 (Annexure C -5) by the opposite parties was that by mistake the consumption of the energy consumed as per the meter installed in the Hospital complex was being recorded as 1/10th of the actual consumption due to non -accountal of (Units digit) last digit of meter which is evident from the ledger records and the bills issued to the complainant.