Staff Reporter:
State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid said in Parliament on Thursday that “ghost (abnormal) electricity bills” may occasionally arise due to technical and non-technical reasons.
“Sometimes incidents of ghost bills might occur due to technical and non-technical reasons. Initiatives have been taken to install pre-paid/smart pre-paid meters on a priority basis to prevent ghost/abnormal bills,” he said.
The state minister was responding to a question from Awami League lawmaker Mamunur Rashid Kiran (Noakhali-3) during the question-and-answer session, which was initiated by Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury at the beginning of Thursday’s sitting.
Mentioning that the total number of customers of the six electricity distribution companies is 4.71 crore, Hamid said various steps were being taken to ensure that the electricity bills are accurate.
“Specific complaints of ghost bills are investigated and addressed, and administrative action is taken in this regard,” he added.
In reply to another question, the state minister stated that in the current 2023-24 financial year, the amount of subsidy for the electricity sector in the budget is Tk 35,000 crore, and Tk 31,833 crore has already been provided from the subsidy funds.
Of this amount, Tk 11,770 crore has been adjusted through cash and Tk 20,133 crore through bonds, he added.
