TSECL Faces 'Ghost Billing' Allegations Across Tripura
Aug 06, 2026
Allegations of "ghost billing" by TSECL have surfaced in multiple parts of Tripura, with consumers in Santirbazar, Jogendranagar and Bishalgarh reporting charges that bear little relation to their actual electricity consumption.
In Santirbazar's Birchandra Manu area, businessman Ashutosh Reang was billed Rs 544 for July despite his meter recording only 1 unit of consumption, according to a report published on July 29.
Reang's shop has remained closed for long, though he has continued paying the minimum bill. Locals alleged that fixed charges continue to be imposed simply because the connection stays active, even when a business is shut.
When contacted, Santirbazar's Electrical Sub-Divisional Officer, Tapas Bhowmik, did not give a clear response on the matter.
In Jogendranagar, solar consumer Yubaraj Hrishidas took a Rs 2.10 lakh bank loan to install a solar unit under a government scheme, on the assurance that his bill would come down to zero.
His July bill shows TSECL owed him Rs 153.70 for 58 units of surplus solar power he supplied to the grid. Yet he was still billed Rs 349, driven mainly by a Rs 210 fixed charge and a Rs 139 sundry charge. Bills over the past several months have ranged between Rs 33 and Rs 210, and have never reached zero.
"My bank installment for the solar loan is Rs 2,294 every month, and this month's bill added Rs 349 more, taking my total electricity related expense to Rs 2,643. Yet I gave the department 245 units of power this month," Hrishidas said.
In Bishalgarh, pan shop owner Krishna Bhowmik paid Rs 2,000 on July 27 for a prepaid recharge but received only 55.6 units of credit, according to the receipt.
His relative, Suvankar Bhowmik, who posted about it online, alleged that consumers are made to stand in long queues at the TSECL office and get evasive answers from staff.
"If this continues, what are we ordinary people supposed to do? Should we stop eating, stop running our households, and just keep feeding money into the electricity meter box?" Suvankar Bhowmik wrote.
The complaints, shared widely on social media, have renewed public criticism of TSECL's fixed and sundry charges, with consumers across the state demanding a transparent, consumption based billing system.
