Electricity users in Arakan State say they are being charged more than actual usage

By DMG 28 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 June 2022, Sittwe

Some local residents in the Arakan State capital Sittwe have complained that the township electricity office has been wrongly charging them for electricity units that they did not use.

It has been months that the township electricity office has been charging customers higher than actual electricity usage, according to residents. There are wide gaps between the units displayed on electricity meters and electricity bill printouts, complain those affected.

“The unit displayed by the meter box at my house is just over 1,600. But on the bill, it is over 7,000 units,” said Ma Nwe Nwe of North Ywagyi ward: “I complained at the electricity office, they told me to pay according to the bill and that I don’t need to pay [again] until my actual usage exceeds 7,000 units. This is because I noticed the difference and filed a complaint at the electricity office. There may be many households that do not notice the differences and pay according to the bills.”

This has imposed an added financial burden on households even as the costs of living have significantly increased and many people have seen their incomes decline, said U Hla Myint of Danyawaddy ward.

“In my house, I only use electricity for lighting and cooking. Previously, electricity bills cost between K8,000 and K9,000. It has been around five months that I have had to pay between K15,000 and K20,000 for electricity bills,” he told DMG. “A friend of mine told me to check the meter box, and I found a huge gap. I complained to the electricity office, and they said they would not charge me until my actual usage reaches the amount of units printed on the electricity bill.”

Similar incidents have been reported in other townships across Arakan State, including at the houses of electricity office staff.

A staffer from the electricity office in Mrauk-U Township said: “People have complained to us, saying we prepare electricity bills without checking meter boxes of households. I told them that I also have to pay more than actual usage. I don’t know why this happens.”

When asked by DMG about what measures were being taken to correct erroneous electricity bills, an official from the Sittwe Township electrical engineering office declined to answer, saying he was not authorised to do so.

Officials from the Arakan State electrical engineering office also declined to answer.