AEML's admission shows it is yet to take concrete steps to implement the recommendations of a fact-finding committee (FFC) appointed by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission for fair practices.
After initially denying consumers' complaints of unrealistically high power bills for May, June and July, Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited admitted to anomalies in meter readings by the vendor which led to the inflated bills. After protests from its power users in Kandivali, Malad and Goregaon which this paper had reported about on Tuesday, the company said it has terminated the services of the vendor and appointed a new one.
A spokesperson for AEML said on Tuesday they are identifying the affected consumers. "Unbilled and thus unpaid portions of May and June months also got read and billed with the July billing, giving consumers a feeling of higher bills. For ease of payout of the backlog, AEML would offer that all such bills can be paid in three interest-free instalments,'' the spokesperson said.
AEML's admission shows it is yet to take concrete steps to implement the recommendations of a fact-finding committee (FFC) appointed by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission for fair practices.
The FFC had submitted its report in June after conducting a probe following earlier protests over the rise in AEML's billing in September-October. It had emphasised the need to improve meter reading, upgrade to smart meters so consumption can be recorded online, and put in place a mechanism to detect abnormal meter readings.
But the recent errors in meter reading occurred despite the company putting in place a two-stage mechanism to detect abnormal readings and testing the meters.
The FFC had also suggested that AEML take measures to avoid such complaints and resolve them without a public outcry or intervention by MERC ot the government.
But AEML has only reacted now, though the issue was first flagged in June and July by consumers in north Mumbai.
Moreover, AEML was advised that it could use mobile texting to stay in touch with consumers throughout the billing process — starting with intimating them the date and time of meter reading, the recorded reading, level of consumption, bill amount, right down to any delays or glitches. The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MahaVitaran) follows this practice.
But AEML has an SMS alert system which intimates customers only when their consumption rises more than 30% over the same month in the year before. An internal company document shows it is yet to upgrade the existing system.
Energy expert Ashok Pendse said, "All distribution companies have the last 12 months' readings of every consumer. They print these on bills. They can see what is the average and maximum consumption in 12 months. They are in a position to programme their systems by taking these readings into account and not charge consumers excessively."
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