Jan 28, 2008 (DVB), Residents of Meikhtila township, Mandalay division, have complained that the township Electric Power Corporation has been demanding extra money for late-payment fines and exaggerated bills.

One Meikhtila resident said he went to the EPC office on 16 September 2007 to pay his electricity bill, which should have cost 3500 kyat, but EPC clerk Min Win Soe told him he had to pay an extra 1500 kyat and did not give him a receipt.

When he returned to pay his bill this month, the officials said he had not paid his earlier bill and demanded more money.

"They accused me of not paying the bill in September and charged me 6800 kyat, which included a fine," the resident said.

"I told them I would report this to the senior authorities, but every time I demanded to speak to their superiors, they said they were not available," he said.

The resident claimed he was not the only person to have complained about the clerk.

"It's not only me who has been cheated that way; there are about seven other people, and they can testify to what has happened," he said.

Another local said that residents were being charged for electricity they had not used.

"We don't have regular electricity in the township, and they also charge us for more units of electricity on our bills than we have actually used," the local said.

The EPC was unavailable for comment.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw