High Court orders committee for probe into prepaid electricity billing complaints

Consumers complain about overcharges, hidden fees, and a lack of transparency

The High Court has ordered the formation of an expert committee to bring transparency in the prepaid electricity meter billing and investigate several other issues related to the system.

After hearing a writ petition on Tuesday, the court issued a set of rules asking the government why it should not order investigations to ensure transparency in the prepaid electricity meter billing system.

A day later, the same bench of Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon and Mustafa Zaman Islam passed the order to constitute the committee on Wednesday after hearing a fresh petition in the case.

Advocates AM Jamiul Hoque Faisal, Abdullah Al Hadi, Kamrul Hasan Regan and Md Zakir Haider represented the petitioner.

Regan said the investigative committee will have to submit its inquiry report to the court.

Hadi filed the writ petition on behalf of Faisal, Regan and Haider on Jun 6, seeking transparency in the bill collection system of prepaid electricity meters.

Prior to this, a legal notice was sent to the respondents on behalf of the petitioners on May 21.

The notice said although prepaid meters have been introduced in Bangladesh to cover all electricity users by 2025, consumers still suffer from overcharges, hidden fees, and a lack of transparency.

This has caused significant inconvenience and widespread dissatisfaction, necessitating a review and reform.

The notice was sent to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, the Bangladesh Power Development Board, the Bangladesh Rural Development Board, DESCO, the West Zone Power Distribution Company, the Northern Electricity Supply Company, and DPDC.