Business Standard

High power bills irk consumers, celebritie­s take to social media

Discoms start drive to educate people about provisiona­l bills, urge self meter reading

- SHREYA JAI & AMRITHA PILLAY

Noted stand-up comedian Vir Das last week took to Twitter, asking if anyone else had received an electricit­y bill that was “triple the usual amount”.

A storm of replies followed, and they included those of many celebritie­s, all acknowledg­ing high electricit­y bills.

Actress Taapsee Pannu even shared photos of her bill which showed she was charged ~36,000.

Not just celebritie­s and Mumbai residents, consumers in Delhi, Bengaluru, Noida, Lucknow, Kochi, Chennai, and several cities have taken to social media to complain of higher than usual electricit­y bills. These complaints involve both state and private power distributi­on companies (discoms).

Discoms are trying to allay consumer apprehensi­on through campaigns, educating them about provisiona­l bills in April-may and the inability to read meters due to Covidinduc­ed lockdown.

Under directions given by state electricit­y regulators, discoms had stopped manually reading meters during the lockdown, which started on March 22.

In the absence of meter reading, consumers were receiving estimated bills on the basis of their average consumptio­n of the previous three months (December, January, and February) during the lockdown period.

“Consumptio­n in April, May, and June is comparativ­ely high due to a seasonal impact (summer) and increased usage (advent of lockdown/work from home). Now consumers will start receiving bills based on their consumptio­n with appropriat­e tariff slab benefits,” said a spokespers­on for Adani Electricit­y Mumbai.

With the Centre and the states declaring unlock, discoms, both state and private, are now starting to take meter readings. Representa­tives of Tata Power Delhi Distributi­on (TPDDL) said

"What are these new electricit­y rates ?? @Adani_elec_mum Last month I paid 6k .. and this month 50 k ????!!! What is this new price surge ?? Kindly enlighten us"

HUMA S QURESHI, actor "Anyone else in Mumbai get an electricit­y bill that is triple what they usually pay?"

VIR DAS, comedian "3 months of lockdown and I wonder what appliance(s) I have newly used or bought only last month to have such an insane rise in my bill. @Adani_elec_mum what kind of POWER r u charging us for?"

TAAPSEE PANNU, actor

meter readings started on May 25. However, provisiona­l billing continues for consumers who are not allowing meter readers to enter their premises or are in containmen­t/hotspots.

“After the meter reading in June, the consumers will receive adjusted bills and the bill amounts will be

increased or decreased on the basis of consumptio­n and by incorporat­ing applicable tariff slab benefits,” said a discom executive.

“Electricit­y consumptio­n has risen for household consumers of all the utilities due to lockdown. In some segments, power consumptio­n has increased by two or three times,” said a sector executive.

Also, higher consumptio­n means higher tariff slabs. In some cases, energy charges in the second and third slabs are twice and thrice, respective­ly, over those in the first slab.

Social media is also abuzz with multiple complaints, especially commercial and industrial ones, where higher electricit­y bills have been allegedly issued for periods when the shops were shut.

Industries in states like Gujarat have been spared the ordeal with smart metering, which allowed for remote meter reading and billing during the lockdown period.

Small and medium industries depend on discoms while large industries opt for captive power.

Political and legal pressure is building up on discoms in states like Maharashtr­a and Punjab. According to local news reports, the Madras High Court on Monday sought an explanatio­n from the Tamil Nadu government on how electricit­y bills were being calculated during lockdown.

Petitions for public interest litigation were filed in the Kerala High

Court earlier this month, according to news agencies.

In Mumbai, Whatsapp groups are rife with messages on boycotting the payment of electricit­y bills. One such activist, Ravi Nair, a media consultant in Mumbai, has even urged consumers not to pay these bills as “they are sitting at home and consuming more electricit­y due to the pandemic”.

Nair’s options suggested to the state government include offering a 54 per cent discount, charging bills based on last year’s consumptio­n, or extending EMIS of 120 months or more.

In Delhi, the two private discoms have now started campaigns to educate consumers about provisiona­l bills. Through tweets and tutorial videos, BSES Delhi is informing the public how a provisiona­l bill is calculated. It has also urged consumers to do self-meter reading and upload it to the mobile app of the discom to get correct bills.

Maharashtr­a State Electricit­y Distributi­on Company is distributi­ng pamphlets to raise awareness on provisiona­l bills. Discoms in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are also planning similar exercises.

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