Inflated electricity bills shock film, TV actors

After many citizens complained of receiving “inflated bills” in June, Bollywood and TV personalities also took to social media on Sunday and stated that they were shocked at the massive increase in their power bills.

Actor Taapsee Pannu on Sunday said that she received a bill of ₹36,000 in June – a sharp surge from her May and April bills of ₹3,850 and ₹4,390, respectively. “Three 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. @Adani_elec_mum what kind of POWER r u charging us for? (sic),” she tweeted. Pannu also claimed that she visits the apartment for which she received the bill, only once a week.

Actor Dino Morea also complained about the bill he received. “Literally got a shock, pun intended. There was no surge in electricity, just the bill. @Adani_elec_mum,” he tweeted. Meanwhile, comedian Vir Das asked citizens in Mumbai if they too have received a bill that is three times more than what they usually pay. In reply to his tweet, actor Ashish Chowdhry

MUMBAI :

tweeted, “Gosh I did. And yes, three times. It’s a massive jump. Went and checked all the geysers in the house if they were on for a month @Tatapower.” TV actor Saumya Tandon claimed that she received a bill of ₹28,000, opposed to her average monthly bill of ₹8,000.

Distribution companies, however, maintained that there have been no errors. Following Pannu’s complaint on Twitter, an Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML) spokesperson said, “Upon receipt of the complaint, we have verified the meter reading and found (it) to be correct.”

A spokesperson from AEML said, “This rise in electricity consumption has been witnessed by household consumers of all utilities due to the lockdown, and enhanced power consumption patterns was observed among such consumers. In some segments, power consumption has increased by two-three-fold.”

STATE TO ASK CENTRE FOR FUNDS FOR MSEDCL

State energy minister Nitin Raut on Sunday said that the government will soon write to the Centre seeking funds for Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) which has suffered losses of more than ₹3,500 crore.