In a major embarrassment for Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, the Corporate Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum (CGRF), Ludhiana, has pulled up the power utility for issuing electricity bills worth over Rs 6.5 lakh to a Jalandhar consumer after finding serious discrepancies in the billing process following installation of a rooftop solar system.
The forum observed that the PSPCL had issued a bill showing consumption of 79,280 units for a 60-day period between August and September 2025, whereas the recorded consumption actually pertained to nearly 10.5 months.
The case was filed by Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Urbana by AGI in Jalandhar, who has a domestic electricity connection with a sanctioned load of 58 kW along with a rooftop solar plant installed in November 2024. According to the complaint, billing issues started soon after installation of the solar system as the solar meter was allegedly not properly integrated with the regular electricity meter despite the system being operational.
The consumer informed the forum that after initially receiving and paying bills of around Rs 76,000, he was later issued a bill of Rs 6.86 lakh on October 17, 2025. Another bill dated November 6, 2025, raised the outstanding amount to Rs 7.32 lakh while a subsequent bill issued in February 2026 showed dues crossing Rs 8.2 lakh.
The consumer alleged that such massive consumption was impossible for a residential premises supported by a rooftop solar plant and blamed faulty adjustment of solar export units and billing irregularities.
During the proceedings, the PSPCL maintained that the meter was technically correct. The utility informed the forum that the meter was replaced in December 2025 after being challenged by the consumer and was later tested in the lab where it was found accurate. The PSPCL also submitted data taken from the meter and consumption records before the forum.
However, after examining the records, the CGRF observed that the disputed bills contained incorrect particulars regarding billing period, initial readings and consumption details. The forum noted that while the overall electricity consumption pattern appeared broadly consistent, the bills wrongly projected nearly 10.5 months of accumulated consumption as if it had occurred within just 60 days.
Holding the billing process to be flawed, the forum quashed all bills issued between November 15, 2024, and December 7, 2025, and directed the PSPCL to issue revised bills strictly on the basis of actual meter readings and correct billing particulars.
