What is bmd in electricity bill?

Usually in electricity bills, the highest maximum demand value recorded by the meter is compared to the contracted power. MAXIMUM DEMAND, SANCTIONED LOAD AND FIXED CHARGES FOR ELECTRICITY BILL. In this lesson, you will learn what is the Maximum Demand of Electricity in Hindi. CLC is applicable when the actual Maximum Demand (MD) recorded in any month is less than 75% of the declared maximum demand for the first. Can anyone help with electricity MDI (maximum demand indicator) charges? What is the basic criteria for calculating MDI charges? Is there any standard formula. That is the MDI penalty that appears on electricity bills.

Most people feel that it is a difficult task to understand the electricity bill. I don’t think. I hope after this article you will be able to know your electricity bill completely.

To know your electricity bill we need to know the important terminology used. Such as fixed charge, unit, load, Maximum demand, etc.

Don’t worry we will cover all the terminology so that you can easily understand the electricity bill. First of all, there is an image below in which I have highlighted the important term. We will understand all the terms one by one which will help you to know your electricity bill.

To understand the bill easily, I have divided the bill into nine parts. Now we will discuss each part and we note the important words for that part. Then we will also discuss that important word one by one.

It is only showing the name and address of the consumer. Or you can call it the name and address of the power connection holder. There is nothing to note here.

In this section, you will find a unique number which is named “खाता संख्या “. It is also called the account number or consumer number of your bill. It is a unique number provided by the service provider. Sometimes it is also called the CA number or contract account number. It is your identity to the service provider or electricity company. Through this ID you can check your electricity bill details or pay online.

It is the most important section of the bill. Here you will find the technical details of your electricity connection. Here you can see the first line “उपभोक्ता श्रेणी “.  It shows the category or type of connection. It is also called rate category or simply tariff or only category.

Second-line shows the phase of the connection whether it is single-phase or three-phase. In the image, it shows it is a single-phase electricity connection.

The third line is your area type whether it is urban or rural.

The fourth line is “स्वीकृत भार /संविदा मांग “. That is Sanctioned load.

The fifth line is “अभिलिखित डिमांड “. That is Recorded demand. In this part there four important terminologies which are to be noted. These are 1. Tariff/Rate Category 2. Phase 3. Sanctioned Load 4. Recorded demand or Maximum demand All the above four terminologies are very important to understand the electricity bill. We will discuss all these terminologies in detail later in this article.

This section shows the meter reading details of your meter. You can see current meter readings and previous readings here. In the above image, both readings are the same. Because the reading has not been taken by the meter reader hence the bill is issued on an average basis. I will discuss it later in the article.

In this section, you can see the previous 11-month consumption details. This also shows your consumption pattern that what was your consumption in summer and what was in winter.

Here you can see the arrear of your electricity bill. If you have not paid your previous electricity bill. Then here you can find the total due amount from the previous bills. It will show zero amount if you pay your bill regularly. It may be negative if you have paid some extra amount.

This is a complete description of your current bill. It shows the calculation of your current electricity charges including energy charges, fixed charges, delay payment surcharge (DPS), meter rent, etc. We will also discuss the entire calculation.

Here you can see your last payment details. It shows your last payment amount, date, and receipt number. you can verify it from your last payment receipt. If here it does not shows your last payment details then it may be that your last payment is not adjusted in your bill. In that case, you should contact your nearest utility office or you can complain to toll-free number 1912.

In this section, you can see the month and year of the bill. The above image shows the billing month as April-2020. After that, it shows the due date. The due date is generally 15 days from the date of billing. If you pay your bill within the due date you get some rebate on your bill amount.

So now we have covered all the sections of the bill. But still, we have not discussed all terminologies of the bill. To know your electricity bill it is very important to understand these terminologies. So here I have collected all the terminology and points, which we will now discuss one by one.

Here is a list of all the components of the electricity bill which are very important and we are going to discuss.

There are many different types of power connections. The type or category is called the tariff. All the categories have different rates. I mean the unit rate of electricity differs in a different category. This classification is done on a different basis.

According to the supply voltage, it is divided into two-part, LT(Low Tension) and HT(High Tension).

Now the LT is divided into two-part single-phase and three-phase. Supply voltage in single-phase is 230Volts and 400Volts in three-phase. These single-phase and three-phase connections are used in our home, shop, and at different places.

HT connections are used by big consumers who need the bulk power supply. Such as Malls, Big Hospitals, Industries, etc. They need bulk power supply so they need supply at higher voltages, that is HT connection. Supply voltage in HT connection is generally 11kV(11 kiloVolts), 33kV, 132kV or above.

Now the above three categories are divided into different categories according to the purpose of connection. Such as if you need an electricity connection for domestic use there is a different category and have a different rate. If you need an electricity connection for commercial purposes there is a different category and hence their rate is different.

So, according to the purpose of electricity connection, it is further divided as Domestic, Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, etc.

So as per our need, we get an electricity connection.

In our sample image of the bill, you can see the “उपभोक्ता श्रेणी ” as NDS-II in section 3. That is it is a commercial connection. Here NDS represents Non-Domestic Service. NDS is just a nomenclature for commercial connections. Similarly, the nomenclature for domestic connection is DS  for industrial LTIS in Bihar. These nomenclatures may vary in a different states. For more details, you can watch this video.

The sanctioned load is also called the connected load. Every electricity connection has an allowed load to use, which is called the sanctioned load. You might have heard that my electricity connection is 5kW, 2kW, 7kW, etc. Actually, it is the allowed load of that connection that is the sanctioned load of the connection.

In our sample image of the bill, you can see the “स्वीकृत भार /संविदा मांग ” as 5kW. This means that the sanctioned load of the connection is 5kW. If the connection holder uses a load of more than 5kW, he will have to pay a fine.

Recorded demand is the actual load used by the consumer. Whatever we use in our home, shop or industry, their load is measured by the meter. And the meter records the maximum load. The maximum load recorded by the meter is called the recorded demand.

For Example, Suppose you are using 10 fans having a load of 500 watts, an AC having load of 1500 Watts, 10 tube lights having a load of 400 watts. Then the meter records the maximum load as 2400 Watts that is 2.4kW. It is the recorded demand. In case two days later if you will use some extra load that is 2.5kW then now the meter will keep your recorded demand as 2.5kW. It will erase the old lower demand recorded earlier. In simple, you can say that the meter keeps the record of the maximum load used by the consumer at a time. That is why it is also called maximum demand.

In our sample image of the bill, you can see the “अभिलिखित डिमांड ” as 5kW in section-3. This means that the recorded demand is 5kW. If the connection holder uses a load of more than 5kW, he will have to pay a fine because the sanctioned load is also 5kW.

Most of the people get confused about recorded demand, sanctioned load, and maximum demand. I hope you understand the point. It will help you to understand the bill.

The electricity bill can be issued on an actual basis or on an average basis. When the meter reader takes the meter reading and issues a bill based on your actual consumption it is called the actual basis. But for some reason, if the meter reading is not done many times, then the electricity company issues the bill on an average basis. It is called the average basis.

Issuing a bill on the actual basis is an ideal case. But average bills are issued for several reasons.

In our sample image of the bill, you can see the “बिल का आधार ” as Average(Premises Lock) in section-3. It means that the above bill is issued on an average basis due to premises lock.

Average bills are issued mainly for two reasons. First premises lock and the second is meter defective. Here I am writing some words which are used to indicate the basis of the bill and what are their meaning.

The Symbols used to indicate the actual bill basis are:

The Symbols used to indicate the average bill basis are:

The above terminologies are very important to know your electricity bill in detail. Otherwise, you may get confused about your bill.

It is very important to know your electricity bill calculation.

From the above table here, you can understand that the unit rate is not the same for every unit. When consumption is increasing the unit rate is also increasing. This type of unit slab rate rewards low-energy users and promotes others to save electricity. Sometimes fixed charges also increase with the increase in consumption. Here you can check out the unit rate structure of Bihar.

In our sample electricity bill, you can see the “ऊर्जा शुल्क ” in section -7.  It is actually the unit charge or energy charge. It totally depends on your unit consumption. If your consumption falls to zero in a month, then this energy charge will be zero for that month. In some cases, it will not be zero if the minimum monthly charge(MMC) is applicable.

The fixed charge is a part of the electricity bill charges. Generally, it is independent of energy consumption. It depends upon the sanctioned load or maximum demand. In the above image of the unit structure, you can see the fixed charge as Rs. 40/kW/Month. It depends only on the load of the connection that is usually fixed. Therefore the fixed charge remains fixed as long as the consumer does not use more load than the allowed load.

As I said it is independent of your energy consumption, it means that you will be charged even if you consume zero units. You will better understand when we will calculate the electricity bill.

The excess demand charge is a type of penalty. If a consumer usage the total load higher than the sanctioned load, He is liable to pay the excess demand charge. Suppose a consumer having sanctioned load is 5 kW. But he is using the total load of 7kW. Then for his extra load of 2kW, There will be a penalty in his bill called excess demand charge.

It is the late fine of your bill. As its name suggests it is a surcharge for the delay in bill payment.

Meter rent is a self-explanatory term. Usually, the meter is provided by the electricity company, so they charge the meter rent.

Electricity duty is a type of tax. In some states, it is zero but in some states, it is not.

To understand the calculation of the electricity bill we will take an actual example of a bill.

Now we will calculate the above electricity bill.

Here the unit consumption is 178 units for 45 days. and the connection is domestic DS-IID.  The tariff rate of DS-II is as below

Here the unit rate is given for monthly consumption. So first of all, we will find out the consumption for one month that is 30days.

So, the consumption for 30 days =(178/45)*30 = 118.667 Units

Now the Energy charge for 118.667 Units is as below:

for 1-100 Units: 100×6.05= 605/-

for 101-118.667 Units: 18.667×6.85=127.87/-

That is a total= 605+127.87= 732.87/-  (It is the unit charge of 118.667 Units or for 30 days).

Now the total unit charge for 178 units for 45 days = (732.87/30)x45 =1099.30/-(you can match with the bill)

Fixed charge = load x fixed charge rate= 2×40=80(for 30days).

Since the bill is for 45 days, the Total fixed charge=120/-

Here Excess demand charge is zero because recorded demand is less than sanctioned load.

In Bihar, electricity duty is charged @6% of the energy charge. So,

Electricity duty = 1099.3 x 6%=65.96/-

In Bihar, the meter rent is removed from the tariff so it is zero.

Here capacitor charge is also zero because the power factor is not measured in the bill.

Now the Government subsidy @ Rs.-1.83/Unit = 325.74/–

So, The total bill=1099.3+120+0+65.96+0-325.74 = 959.52/-

To know your electricity bill you have to understand all components of the electricity bill and its charges. Then you can understand easily. It is nothing but simple mathematics and some terminologies.

I hope you liked the article. If you have any doubts or suggestions please comment below and share with your friends. It will help me a lot. Thank you.

Also read: What is 1 Unit of Electricity, Power Consumption kWh and Wattage kW?

Once we understand why and what are being charged in our electric bills, we can identify ways to lower our monthly bills. This article explains what each item is in the electricity bills and how they are calculated by the utility company. I will show a few examples of electric bills with some basic calculations on electricity charges, KWTBB, GST and other surcharges that can be avoided.

There are generally two broad categories of charges

Electricity usage - It included two (2) items in users’ bill:-

(i)           Energy charge i.e. the amount you pay for electricity usage (kWh),

and

(ii)         Demand charge i.e. the amount you pay for maximum demand (kW) recorded in a month

Take the following example, an office building is under tariff C1 where kWh rate is RM0.365/kWh and maximum demand (MD) rate is RM30.30/kW. This means for every unit of electricity it uses, the user pays 36.5 cents, at the same time the user pays RM30.30 for each unit of maximum demand recorded during the month. (red box)

What is maximum demand or demand charge?

In layman term, demand charge is imposed by the utility company for use of its capacities. Capacities are the provision of generation plants, transmission and distribution of power system. Because the utility company spends millions of ringgits each year on those new assets to ensure reliable and secure supply of power to users at all times, therefore users (usually large power users) must pay for the use of those capacities. Domestic and small commercial users do not pay for demand charges as their uses of capacity are negligible.

How is demand charge calculated?

Maximum demand (MD) is the highest level of electricity demand recorded by TNB meter during a 30-minute interval in a month. The amount charged to a user is based on the recorded MD in kilowatt (kW) multiplied by the respective MD rate. Take the above for example, the amount payable by the user with 2,358.41kW of MD is RM 71,459.82 (2,358.41kW x RM30.30/kW). As we can see, the demand charge consists of a significant portion (23.7% in this case) of total electricity usages. Avoiding MD charge is not possible however it can be lowered. One common way to reduce MD is to run power intensive systems in stages, avoiding power up those systems within a short period of time can help mitigate the spike in maximum demand.

Note: There is MD management software available in the market that enables users to actively managing the use of energy. This software is not energy saving devices per se, but act as tools to help users to gain visibility of their energy usages so that they can find ways to improve energy efficiency.

Who pays for demand charges?

Electricity users who are under high & medium voltage include tariff C1, C2, E1, E2, E3. Domestic and low voltage users are excluded (tariff A, B & D). Tariff code can be found on your monthly electricity bill.

Non-electricity charges include ICPT, GST, KWTBB and other surcharges.

ICPT – The ICPT is a mechanism approved by the Government and implemented by Energy Commission since 1 January 2014 as part of a wider regulatory reform called the Incentive-Based Regulation (IBR). The ICPT mechanism allows the national utility - TNB to reflect changes in fuel and generation costs in consumer’s electricity tariff every six (6) months. You can read my previous article to find out more about ICPT.

KWTBB/RE fund– renewable energy fund is a surcharge to all users (except very low-income households). This surcharge effectively means all electricity users subsidising renewable energy producers at premium prices. The calculation of KWTBB is 1.6% of users’ total electricity usages which are the total of energy charge + demand charges (excluding all surcharges). In other words, the more electricity you use, the more you will contribute your money to subsidise towards the RE funds. Meanwile, Good and Service Tax (GST) is also calculated based on the total electricity usages including ICPT. Lowering energy and demand charges in your bills will impact the amount you contribute to not only the RE fund but also GST.

Take the previous example, to calculate the amount of RE fund contribution, multiply the sum of energy charge and demand charge by 1.6% i.e. (RM229,227.67 + RM71,459.82) X 1.6% = RM4,811.00.

To calculate the GST, simply multiply the sum of energy charge, demand charge and ICPT rebate by 6% i.e. (RM229,227.67 + RM71,459.82 – RM9,545.92) X 6% = RM17,468.49.

There are other non-electricity surcharges like power factor surcharge, Connected Load Charge (Caj Sambungan Beban) as discuss later in this article.

Power Factor Surcharge

A Power factor surcharge is imposed when your power factor is less than 0.85. Simply put, low power factor means the inefficient use of energy.

Power factor surcharge is calculated as follows:-

1.5% surcharge on the current bill – for every 0.01 less than 0.85 power factor and 3% surcharge on the current bill – for every 0.01 less than 0.75 power factor.

In the following example, a low voltage commercial user had a PF of 0.75 in a given month.

The formula for calculating PF surcharge is:-

X (RM 87 + RM 2,174.45) X 1.5% = RM 339.22

Note if the PF goes lower than 0.75, the penalty will be calculated based on 3% as stated.

Why is there PF surcharge?

The utility company supplies not only “Active power” (kWh) to the users but also what is called “Reactive power” (kVAr). Low Power Factor is generally caused by facilities with large fans and motors and equipment with a high number of transformers which requires high reactive power (KVAR). Facilities with low power factor cause the utiltiy company to increase its generation and transmission capacity in order to handle this extra demand. Money spent by the utility company will be recovered in the form of penalty/surcharge from those who cause the issues. Low power factor issue can be easily resolved by installing the right size of capacitors by a qualified electrical contractor.

Connected Load Charge (CLC)

CLC is applicable when the actual Maximum Demand (MD) recorded in any month is less than 75% of the declared maximum demand for the first 6 years of a new facility. It is imposed based on the shortfall between the 75% of the declared maximum demand and maximum demand recorded in a month. A penalty of RM8.50/kW will be charged for every kW shortfall between the actual Maximum Demand used compared to the Reference Maximum Demand (RMD) and it’s calculated monthly.

The method of determining Reference Maximum Demand for calculating CLC are as follows:

Note: CLC is applicable when MD recorded < Reference MD.

The below example shows a facility with a declared MD of 4,130 kW in its 3rd year of operation.

In the 3rd year, RMD is 75% X 75% X 4,130 = 2,323.13 kW

For this particular month, the actual MD was 1,943 kW, hence the shortfall was

2,323.13 – 1,943 = 380.13 kW, therefore CLC surcharge of that month was

380.13 X RM8.50 = RM 3,231.10

Bear in mind that this facility will continue to pay for CLC surcharges until the 6th year and the charges will increase from 4th year onwards due to increased in RMD.

Why Connected Load Charge and how to avoid it?

There is often a figure shown as ‘Maximum demand’. What does it mean and why should you be interested?

Electricity use is metered and charged in two ways:

To avoid penalties for maximum demand we must ensure that this value will never exceed contracted power.

Usually, in electricity bills, the highest maximum demand value recorded by the meter is compared to the contracted power. Whenever this value is higher than the contracted power, there will be an economic penalty. Therefore, if during the billing month the power exceeds the one contracted, during a period of 15 minutes, the customer will pay a penalty, even if it exceeds only once a month (one month has approximately 2880 fifteen-minute periods).

As shown in the graph, if the maximum demand value exceeds 10 % of the contracted power, the user will pay a 20% increase on the maximum demand term. However if the maximum demand value exceeds 20 % of the contracted power, the user will pay a 50% increase on the maximum demand term.

As we have been advancing, the goal to control the maximum demand is to not exceed the limit of the contracted power. To archive this goal, we advise to install a system able to disconnect non critical loads, on different time periods, and also avoid connecting loads simultaneously to reduce the instantaneous power.

Non-critical loads are those that do not affect the main production process or that are not essential, such as:

The main objective of the Goblin Plus series is to manage and control the maximum demand of an installation, also can be used as a Data Logger. To achieve this objective, the device connects and disconnects some loads (non-critical ones) to ensure that the maximum demand will never be higher than the contracted power, avoiding electricity bill surprises. Moreover, the Goblin Plus, allows a tariff control to adjust the loads for being connected on periods with lower price, avoiding high consumptions due to loads simultaneity during high tariff price periods.

GOBLIN PLUS is a multipurpose meter, with all the features needed to implement a robust electrical load management system. It can be configured to suit most control and communication needs. The meter has four LEDs in the front, two to calibrate energies, one to indicate the status of RS485 communication and one to indicate DG Status.

To control the maximum demand level, Screenshots are below: