News
Consumers boiling over reckless utility billing
View(s):By Akash Widanapathirana
A shortage of meter readers at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the Ceylon Electricity Board is disrupting billing services, officials and trade union representatives said.
CEB believes that in some cases charges have been estimated and consumers have complained that actual use had been lower.
Semakumara Bandara, secretary of Consumer Coordinators’ Union, charged that meter readers were not recruited regularly although consumers have been increasing.
Billing services have been severely affected in North Central Province, Central Province and North Western Province, he said. “Some meter readers are working from 7.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 24 days to calculate 2,000 bills a month. This is unbearable,” Semakumara claimed.
He said that a CEB meter reader also has to check and report illegal electrical connections and disconnections. “Billing errors have been reported due to this heavy workload. This has caused much inconvenience to the public.”
Reports from the North Central Province say estimated charges have been mailed to consumers.
A meter reader in the area said bills had not been sent on time.
“For the poor in rural areas like Kahatagasdigiliya, Padaviya this is a severe problem. They cannot even afford charges of even Rs 250. So it is unfair to issue estimated charges,” he said. He called for overtime issues to be solved, saying meter readers are prepared to handle the work load.
Meanwhile, the Water Board Meter Readers’ Union said there were more than 600 vacancies.
“There are nearly 210,000 consumers and the existing number of meter readers is not enough,” said Senerath Arthajeewa the secretary of union. He noted that a shortage of meter readers was seen in urban areas including Dehiwala, Kadawatha, Kelaniya and Biyagama.
A company director living in Dehiwala said that although unions cannot be blamed for their actions, victimizing the public was not acceptable either.
“Our company water consumption exceeds 100 units per month. When the meter readers do not come on the scheduled date, the charges increase,” he said. Apart from the staff shortage, a work-to-rule campaign by NWSB meter readers from February 17 to March 8 also affected the processing of bills. Chairman of National Water Supply and Drainage Board, K A Ansar denied the allegations, adding that enough staff had been recruited.
“At the time we recruited them, demand was low and there was not much work for them. But they should understand that the situation has changed now. They should change their attitudes too,” he said. “The meter readers generally can deal with 2,100 bills per month.” He added that new technology will be introduced in the future to improve the efficiency and the productivity of the billing system. He said that by introducing smart meters, the readers would be able to calculate consumption easily.
A CEB senior official said there had not been any reports of a shortage of meter readers.
However, Ceylon Electricity Board Minneriya Area Office confirmed that there was a shortage of meter-readers in the Polonnaruwa District. The office has received 25-30 phone calls from consumers complaining about estimated charges. The office controls a vast area in the Polonnaruwa district including Habarana, Hingurakgoda, Manampitiya and Polonnaruwa.
A senior official in the office said the shortage of meter-readers was highlighted in February because some unqualified temporary workers had been dismissed. He aded that some staff had been recruited since.