On Monday (July 6), at a press conference on 'ghost bills' held at the Bijoy Hall of the Power Building in the capital, Power Division Secretary Mirana Mahrukh provided this information.

She said that the increase in electricity bills for many customers in June was not only due to tariff adjustments but also due to increased electricity usage. Additionally, many customers' bills naturally increased as they moved into higher tariff slabs.

However, noting that clerical errors occurred in some cases during bill preparation, the Secretary said that these incidents have been identified and corrected through verification and review.

As an example, she mentioned that in Khagrachhari, a customer's actual electricity usage was 70 units. But due to a data entry error, it was billed as 700 units. As a result, the customer received an abnormally high bill. The matter was later corrected, the bill was fixed, and necessary administrative action was taken against the concerned officials and employees.

Mirana Mahrukh further said that necessary instructions have been given to electricity distribution companies to investigate and verify the authenticity of complaints related to 'ghost bills'. At the same time, the government has continued subsidies in the power sector to prevent additional financial pressure on customers.

She informed that work is ongoing to increase the efficiency of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution systems, reduce system losses, expand the use of prepaid and smart meters, and improve customer service quality.

Calling on customers who have any doubts or complaints about their electricity bills to contact the relevant electricity distribution company, she said that all necessary measures, including meter testing, bill re-verification, and complaint resolution, will be taken if needed.