Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation [CESC] — meter blew off and it's replacement

Address:

Kolkata, West Bengal, 700017

Consumer no. [protected]
Customer id: [protected]
Name: anisuzzaman mohiuddin
Date of incident: 5 oct 2017 time: about 4.00am

There was a very loud bang. The meter is located in the parking area downstairs. I reside on first floor, my one brother in law is on the second floor, another b/in law stays on the third floor. When i heard the loud sound resembling an explosion, i thought it was someone's gas cylinder that had burst. I kept my mind focussed on any probable call for help from any victim. I never heard anything for almost about 5 minutes so i went off to sleep again. I slept off to wake up at about 7 in the morning. I was told by my wife that there was a load shedding - nothing unusual about kolkata, i thought. But soon i found out that my brother in law was talking to some cesc staffs attending to some problem downstairs. Then i was told that our electric meter had blown and cesc staffs disconnected the wires and gave some instructions to my brother in law. Then i became inquisitive to know more. But there was not much of help from my brother in law as well because he did not know what next to do from our side. Then i asked him to call the people who had come to find out what we have to do. After speaking to those staffs he informed me that the meter will be replaced soon, very soon but no idea of any date was suggested or if any further action was necessary from our end.

Nothing progressed till about 1 pm. So i tried to call cesc but nothing works there. 1912 does not work either. Finally i called a number printed on the bill and filed some kind of complaint. I was given a docket number. Then 4 people came like a mob in the evening about 4pm in a jeep. They saw the condition of the meter, then asked me to show the bill. After seeing these they asked me to visit some office the next day in the morning near victoria house and get some bill raised and make payment and then seek replacement of the meter. They could not even pronounce the name of the building where this office is located. What i heard from them was 'sten building'. Actually when i went there today i found out that the name of the building is 'eastern building'. I am 69 and nearing 70. I had to climb the stairs to first floor where a lady staff - after seeing my meter bill and hearing the nature of complaint - asked me to go to third floor and get the bill for meter replacement. I climbed the 2 floors - i am a cancer patient with some hip joint problems complicating the matter further - and there i was asked to wait for sometime. After about 45 minutes i barged into the office and spoke to the officer concerned. When i told him that i am unwell and need to hurry up, he took some initiative and somehow got the bill raised. He told me to go back to first floor to the same lady. When i went back there she looked up the computer and then printed a bill and asked me to go to an office nearby and pay an amount of rs.5, 700/- and then come back to report to her. I was trying to fathom the culture of this organisation. Then i went to victoria house to make the payment. I was told there that the cash office is at 67 bentinck street, quite a distance for my troubled hip joint. So i slowly went to 67 bentinck st, stood in que and paid by credit card (Only one out of 6 counters accepted credit card). After making the payment i returned back to the lady and gave a small piece of my mind and telling her that cesc was a rotten organisation and deserved some dressing down. An officer (Divisional engineer) was listening to what i said and then he took me to his chamber and heard my case. He profusely apologised for what troubled me in cesc and then he had a lot of arguments to give for what really led me to go through the troubles. He then assured me that the meter will be replaced at the earliest and he said he will make a personal follow up. Finally i returned in the afternoon home and by about 4pm two people came from cesc to replace the same. Then i received a call from that officer asking me if some action has been taken. I confirmed and my trouble was resolved.

My complaint: the meter that blew off was not mine, it was cesc property. It blew off for no fault of mine but they took the replacement cost from me. Again this meter is not my property though i have pad for it. Is it that cesc sold something to me without paying any taxes like vat or gst on the same? If it was their property then replacement should have been without any charge.

What kind of system they have in place that leaves a consumer without power for more than a day. We are so power dependent that without power we cannot even have bath and here we have an organisation that is so insensitive to consumers' problems? This is not acceptable. This needs to be taken to a consumer court.