The staggering clerical error prompted immediate government intervention, the suspension of a local utility official, and a personal apology from the energy minister.
How a Routine Meter Reading Became a 506-Crore Bill
Aleya Khatun, the wife of retired teacher Shahidul Islam, residing in Kechuadubi village within Magura Sadar Upazila’s Moghi Union. Classified under the LT-A (Residential) consumer category, the household’s meter reading progressed from 160 units on August 8 to 395 units on September 8, marking a verified monthly consumption of precisely 235 units.
Instead, the document generated on September 10 loaded the account with an astonishing demand charge of 482 crore 69 lakh 63 thousand 422 taka, supplemented by 24 crore 13 lakh 48 thousand 171 taka in value-added tax and a standard 10-taka meter rent. The payment deadline was stamped for September 29, with a warning that failure to settle on time would push the total past 530 crore 96 lakh 59 thousand 764 taka.
Immediate Suspension of the Magura Palli Bidyut Samity General Manager
As word of the absurd demand spread across the local community and created a stir, the government moved quickly to address the administrative breakdown. The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources confirmed that Magura Palli Bidyut Samity General Manager Mohammad Mohitul Islam was instantly dismissed from his post following the incident.
Accountability did not stop at the general manager’s office. The Arpara Zonal Office launched internal disciplinary action by issuing show-cause notices to four local utility employees: Deputy General Manager Md. Rezaul Karim, billing supervisor Sima Rani, billing assistant Suma Rani Ghosh, and meter reader-cum-messenger Torab Ali. All four individuals were given seven working days to explain how the erroneous charges bypassed institutional checks.
Ministerial Apology and Correction at the Arpara Zonal Office
Faced with a financial demand that exceeded the annual budgets of many small municipalities, Aleya Khatun carried the bill herself to the Arpara zonal office in Shalikha Upazila on Tuesday, September 29, to file a formal complaint. Utility officials verified the error on-site, recalculated the charges, and corrected the total, which the consumer promptly paid.
The fallout reached the highest levels of the energy ministry the following morning. Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku placed a direct phone call to Aleya Khatun on Wednesday morning, September 30, to offer a personal apology for the ordeal.
In English translation, the affected consumer described the document as not just a ghost bill, it is preposterous and warned that the negligence of the power division increases our anxiety and suffering, and we demand a remedy for such mistakes.