Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked Power Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule on Saturday to set up a committee to examine last three months' bill cycles and ascertain the reason behind the abrupt rise.
After outrage over sudden spikes in electricity bills in the suburbs, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked Power Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule on Saturday to set up a committee to examine last three months' bill cycles and ascertain the reason behind the abrupt rise.
Adani Electricity has been supplying power to Mumbai's suburbs and extended areas after it acquired Reliance Infrastructure. Its customers had complained that their bills had surged, in some cases to double the usual amount, in September and October. Following a social media campaign, Congress and other political parties joined the citizens' protest, prompting BJP city chief Ashish Shelar to ask CM Fadnavis to set up the committee, in addition to an audit by the state metrology department.
The committee, which would comprise experts and consumer activists, is expected to table its report within three months with its findings.
"The increase in the bill varies from 50 to 100 per cent. The two months have seen the electricity supplier change from Ambani [Reliance] Infrastructure to Adani Electricity. Adani levied higher charges for September without proper meter readings. The actual consumption of units is not the same as mentioned in the bills. People have got evidence such as a screenshots of their actual meter reading," Shelar said.
"Adani should provide details of how they are charging consumers without proper meter readings. They should give refunds accordingly, with interest. And to prevent such a situation in future, the legal metrology department should be authorised to conduct random checks of meters and verify bills. The state government should make suo moto submission to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission about the consumer issues and ask for a MERC regulatory process," he added.
Adani Electricity said in a press release: "We are creating awareness on billing-related queries and are reaching out to as many as people. There are multiple options we are offering to our customers to address the billing issues. We will respond within 24 hours. We have also set up eight help centres that will be functional except on Sundays where citizens can go with their grievance."
Shelar said many consumers were not aware of this and were blindly paying the increased bill amount, which is a serious issue. He also pointed out that after the complaints, consumer bills were calculated as an average consumption of last three months. "Adani asked the people to submit evidence of actual reading and they have shown willingness to rectify the mistake and credit the amount or adjust it in future bills," said Shelar.
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