High power bills irk consumers, celebrities take to social media
Discoms start drive to educate people about provisional bills, urge self meter reading
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.