ACD charges leave power consumers fuming

HYDERABAD: Consumers were in for a shock when they received power bills with Advanced Consumption Deposit (ACD) charges this month from Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) and Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited. As a result, some consumers had to pay three times the usual bill amount.

ACD charges are calculated on the annual consumption of power. For instance,
if a consumer gets an electricity connection with a one-kilowatt load capacity and uses power more than the installed capacity, he has to pay ACD charges. Power companies calculate ACD on average consumption of two months.

B. Prashanth, a resident of Nizamabad said that he usually pays Rs 150 as
electricity charges every month. However, he has to pay Rs 500 extra as ACD
charges, he said.

TPCC senior leader, former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir alleged that the
Telangana Discoms were sending erratic bills to collect an exorbitant amount
from consumers and the Congress party would launch an agitation on this
issue.