VietNamNet Bridge – A man in the southern province of Soc Trang lost consciousness and was hospitalized after receiving a monthly electricity bill of over VND6.4 million ($320).

Photo for illustration.

According to his wife, Mr. Phan Van Be was initially silent when informed of his March electricity charge by a utility company employee who had just read his power meter. Moments later, Be swooned and fell to the ground. Family members took him to a nearby emergency ward.

Be’s wife says her family’s power bills prior to that time were only in the range of VND350,000-360,000, or about $17, per month.

Mr. Huynh Minh Hai, Director of the Electricity Company of Soc Trang Province, allows that Be’s electricity bill may have been in error.

It is abnormal, says Hai, for a monthly electric bill to suddenly shoot up by a factor of 20. He adds that the company employee who read the meter may have made a mistake somewhere, and has been asked to explain what happened in this case.

Hai also noted that the mechanical power meter of Be’s family was recently replaced with an electronic device.

X. Lan