CESC will allow three instalments and an extension of 10 days from the due date for payment of current bills, the company announced on Thursday.

“We are providing consumers with the option of paying the present bill in three instalments and extending the due date by 10 days,” said Avijit Ghosh, CESC vice-president (distribution services).

Some Calcuttans have been vocal on social media for the past few days about what they think are “inflated” power bills.

Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, a Bhowanipore resident, said his bill was higher than usual.

“My monthly bill varies between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000. This time, it is Rs 11,000.

Several people have complained to me about inflated bills.”

CESC’s Ghosh said: “The present bills are based on actual meter readings. We have adjusted the present bill with the previous bills drawn up on an average of the past six months because the lockdown had disrupted the actual reading of meters.”

Ghosh added: “The bills were in keeping with the guidelines of the regulatory commission for the benefit of consumers. That is the reason several consumers have received costlier bills now.”

The average on which the past bills have been drawn upwas based on power consumption in the winter months when ACs and fans were not in use, Ghosh said.

The April bill, for example, was drawn on the average spend of October to March.

Post-lockdown, one cycle of meter readings has been completed and now, bills based on the actual readings are being sent to the consumers, he said.