During rainy season in Bengaluru , the number of complaints on electricity reported to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) customer care reports a spike. Power disruptions occur due to various reasons like fallen trees , fallen poles , short circuit at transformers , single phase load etc. As a safety precaution sometimes BESCOM too take care by cutting power for scheduled activities arising from above situations.
During power disruptions there are chances of power fluctuations , where sometimes there may be incidents of a spike in voltage . We may have noticed our Televisions , Refrigerators getting affected during such conditions. By using devices such as voltage stabilizers , in event of such conditions it ensures the equipment connected does not get damaged keeping the voltage supply under limits .
We may have noticed , inside our houses Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) which is basically a switch which controls the supply to the house . During overload conditions MCB switches off cutting the supply thus preventing any damage from power fluctuation. Similarly an Earthing Circuit Breaker (ECB) which works similar to MCB switches / trips off when there is any earthing leakage detected preventing any damage. These are managed by the house resident when they construct the house.
Outside the house , BESCOM provides for every electricity connection a Power meter which is used to measure the power drawn from the house in terms of units / Kilowatt per hour usage. On a monthly basis this meter reading is used for billing purposes. Along with the meter , a fuse is provided for additional safety which cuts of if there is any severe short circuit. Also fuses are used by BESCOM to forcefully cut the power if bills are not paid within stipulated time.
These power meters are very sturdy in nature withstanding power fluctuations . In very rare situation there are chances it may go faulty . Analyzing and resolving such power meters is a bit time consuming activity requiring intervention of BESCOM staff and procedures. In this post , we shall review tested and tried method on how to handle such a situation.
Why power meters get burnt
- Only if there is a very high power fluctuation exceeding meter threshold limits
- Meter circuit boards components report fault due to wear and tear after long usage
What happens if meter gets burnt
- When meter gets burnt , the power supply to house gets disconnected
- There will be no power till the meter is replaced or corrected
Whom to report about meter burnt
- BESCOM customer 1912 should be reported and a service ticket should be raised. Customer care may inform it may take a day time to resolve the issue
- One may visit the nearest BESCOM center and contact Junior Engineer or lineman to provide solution.
How to get a temporary electricity connection
- Many equipment run on power such as water borewells , purifiers etc . If there is no power backup then there may be a temporary emergency to arrange a connection
- The Lineman may be requested to provide a direct connection bypassing meter . Note , this is not legal - but depending on the situation and analyzing the consumption they may enable for lighting
- Lineman consults the Engineer in charge and reports the issue
- Engineer may ask to submit a request letter along with the RR number of the meter which usually will be present in monthly bills.
- After reviewing the request , Engineer allocates a meter which lineman shall install and take back the burnt meter.
What are the charges for a new meter
- Standard new meter charges shall apply based on category
- For a household meter it shall be less than Rs.5K as on date.
How is the billing settled from the new meter
- As the last reading of meter is not known , for that month BESCOM shall settle based on average usage of previous few months and generate a bill. This should be collected at the BESCOM office.
- From the subsequent month , billing will be as per the meter reading
Subscribe , Follow on