Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Woman shocked by $1/2M light bill
– says GPL told her she has to pay it
Donna Abusa
“I only have a refrigerator and a TV in my house,” said Donna Abusa of 31 Walker Terrace, La Penitence, who, for the month of June, received a Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) bill for $488,030.
Abusa told Kaieteur News that she is at a loss, and does not understand how it is that she was billed for so much money, especially since the previous bill, which comes under the name of a relative, Sybil Hawker, was merely $359.
The woman referred to her last bill as being totally outrageous, stating that it never surpassed $8,000 per month. “The bill before this one was just for $359, so I didn’t pay it…I waited for this month’s own, and was planning to pay all at the same time.
But now they send me one (a bill) close to half of a million dollars. How in God’s name did they come up with that figure, I don’t know. This is outrageous. Watch the difference. And is only a refrigerator and a TV I got in this house,” the woman said.
Abusa further admitted that due to a lack of payments, her electricity connection was disconnected for about six months. She said that she soon cleared up that which was due and applied for a reconnection, but had to wait for awhile before the company could find a reconnection crew to visit her home.
“I paid out everything, and still I had to wait how long fuh they come put it back on. Every time yuh call, is the same thing – they don’t have any road crew available.”
The woman said that she was forced to call a friend who works with the disconnection crew, to reconnect her power. The man came, and this was done, the woman said.
It was the bill that came shortly after which reflected that she was required to pay $359.
A copy of the woman’s latest light bill
However, the following month, the woman said that she got “the shock of her life” when she received the latest bill for $488,030.
“I could not believe this. How can dem two things, (a TV, and a refrigerator) cost so much…? This is not right at all.”
Abusa told this publication that upon receipt of the bill, she immediately made contact with GPL, and was told by a representative that it is compulsory for her to make payments on that bill.
“How can I make payments, when I know for a fact that it is impossible for me to burn so much current…I didn’t have light for six months, and then the last bill was about $300, so I don’t know what kind of calculation these people doing, but I refuse to pay that money.”
“I need somebody to come forward and explain to me how they arrive at that money, because when bill come again, they gon want to disconnect me, and it’s not fair. Somebody needs to give me a proper explanation.”
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