The general manager of Magura Palli Bidyut Samity has been suspended after a residential customer was issued an erroneous bill of nearly Tk 507 crore for using 235 units of electricity.
General Manager Md Mohitul Islam was suspended following on the orders of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood after the incident came to his attention through the media and social media.
Departmental and disciplinary action has also been ordered against other officials and employees found responsible for the billing error, according to a ministry statement issued on Wednesday.
The minister also spoke directly to the affected customer over the phone and expressed his regret over the incident and the mental distress and anxiety caused by the erroneous bill.
He assured the customer that the bill was already corrected and a revised bill delivered, urging her to report any such problems directly to the authorities in future.
According to the statement, Aleya Khatun, wife of retired teacher Shahidul Islam of Kechuadubi village in Magura Sadar upazila, was issued a September electricity bill of Tk 5,06,83,11,593 for consuming 235 units.
The extraordinary bill drew widespread attention after reports appeared in the media and on social media, causing considerable discussion in the locality.
Following the minister’s instructions, an immediate investigation was launched into the incident.
The preliminary investigation found that the unusual bill was generated due to an inadvertent technical error during a meter replacement.
According to the investigation, digits of the meter’s seal number were mistakenly entered into the demand charge field, resulting in the exceptionally high bill.
After the initial findings confirmed the error, the minister ordered strict departmental and disciplinary action against other officials and employees involved in the incident.
Iqbal Hassan said the government is committed to ensuring a people-friendly and service-oriented administration.
He said complaints related to electricity services will be given due importance and effective action will be taken as quickly as possible to reduce public suffering.