Residents were issued provisional bills, referred to as N-code bills, as outsourced Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) employees continued their strike.
It came as the routine meter reading and spot billing was suspended for the May-June cycle, and the PSPCL had to resort to estimated billing to keep revenue collection afloat.
According to PSPCL data, more than 10.5 lakh consumers statewide received N-code bills. Of these, nearly 9.6 lakh bills were prepared on an estimated basis due to the absence of actual consumption data. Another 92,643 smart meter consumers were affected by data synchronisation and connectivity glitches, forcing the corporation to issue temporary bills despite the automated system.
In Ludhiana, nine electricity divisions supply power to nearly nine lakh consumers, many of whom also got the provisional bills.
Officials clarified an N-code bill was not final, but was just a temporary estimate generated due to unavailability of consumption data. They said the accounts would be corrected once meter readings were available.
Any excess payment will be adjusted in the next cycle and shortfalls will be added to subsequent bills.
The bills are prepared using a consumer’s past records, often referencing the same period from the previous year. To ensure uninterrupted revenue collection, the PSPCL directed field offices to physically deliver high-value bills. Bills above Rs 5,000 are being dispatched via speed post and those between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 are being handed over by sub-division staff.
A senior PSPCL official urged consumers not to panic, stressing N-code bills were just a stopgap measure. “Any difference between estimated and actual consumption will be automatically adjusted in upcoming billing cycles,” the official said.
Locals, however, rued the estimated billing.
“Our air conditioner is not working. We were out of city for 15 days and have still received a bill of Rs 10,000 for a month. When I contacted the PSPCL office, they told me that these bills are provisional, issued based on our previous usage,” said Balwinder Kaur, a consumer.
At the same time, consumer services have been thrown into disarray after outsourced employees resumed their strike from June 16.
Suvidha centres are shut, meter-reading operations are stalled and complaint redressal has nearly collapsed. The strike was started as workers alleged the PSPCL failed to honour its assurance of inducting eligible outsourced employees into the department.
Officials admitted the absence of trained personnel had severely impacted service delivery.
“We are facing a shortage of skilled staff to handle consumer grievances and technical issues. The strike has paralysed routine operations,” said a senior PSPCL official, requesting not to be named.
