Tk 507cr ‘ghost bill’ over 235 units 

The Power Division has temporarily suspended the general manager of Magura Palli Bidyut Samity after a residential customer was issued an electricity bill of nearly Tk507 crore for using just 235 units in September.

The bill, amounting to Tk506,83,11,593, was issued in the name of Aleya Khatun, wife of retired teacher Shahidul Islam, of Kechuadub village in Maghi Union, Magura. The extraordinary bill came to light after it was shared on social media, drawing widespread attention.

Following the incident, Power and Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud ordered the Rural Electrification Board to take immediate action against those responsible. 

In a preliminary investigation, officials found that the abnormal bill resulted from a mechanical error during a meter change. The digits of the meter seal number were mistakenly entered in the demand charge field, generating the hugely inflated bill.

The authorities subsequently corrected the bill and delivered a new one to the customer. Magura Palli Bidyut Samity General Manager Md Mahitul Islam was temporarily suspended and attached to the office of the Supervising Engineer of the Jashore Region.

Three other employees were also suspended over their alleged involvement in the error. They are Sima Rani Ray, billing supervisor of the Arapara Regional Office under Shalikha upazila; Soma Rani Ghosh, billing assistant; and Mohammad Torap Ali, meter reader-cum-messenger. They have been attached to the Magura Sadar headquarters.

The minister also ordered strict departmental and punitive measures against other officials and employees found responsible following the investigation.

After the matter came to public attention, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud telephoned Aleya Khatun around 11:30am on Wednesday and apologised for the inconvenience and anxiety caused by the erroneous bill.

During the conversation, he assured her that the bill had already been corrected and requested her to inform the authorities directly if she faced any similar problem in the future. Khatun later said she could not clearly recall whether the minister or the state minister had called her as she had received numerous phone calls over the incident.

The minister said the government was committed to ensuring a people-friendly and service-oriented administration.
“Any electricity-related complaint will be taken with the utmost seriousness, and effective measures will be taken at the earliest possible time to alleviate people’s suffering,” he said.