Celebs ‘shocked’ by their lockdown electricity bills
Many, including celebrities, got the shock of their lives (pun intended) in the form of their recent electricity bills. Actor Taapsee Pannu, who was charged ₹36,000 for June — almost 10 times the usual — shared her surprise by tweeting, “3 months of lockdown and I wonder what appliance(s) I have newly used or bought in the apartment only last month to have such an insane rise in my electricity bill….” She tells us, “That was a shocking bill I received… They don’t have any proof of what our actual reading was. How do we know how high it was?”
Actor Amyra Dastur said she wasn’t even living in the flat she was charged for, since April 1. Vir Das and Renuka Shahane were also taken aback by their bills. Shahane tweeted: “I got a bill of ₹5510 on the 9th of May while in June I got a bill of ₹29,700 combining May &
June…” Actor Dino Morea says, “I am sure there’s a solution... We’ll just have to understand it better from the electricity company.”
The company, in Mumbai, has since clarified. “We have re-started physical meter reading... Bills were generated on the lower side, being an average of preceding three months that is, December, January and February... Actual consumption in... April, May and June is comparatively higher due to seasonal impact (summer) and increased usage (advent of Lockdown/WfH),” said a spokesperson of Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited.
Delhiites too face similar woes. Aashima Akhtar, a thirdyear DU student says, “We are apparently charged on 2019’s usage. So, my total bill for the last three months is ₹13,000.”