Amid the pandemic when most of us are still working from home, it is obvious that we'd be using more electricity than we usually do. And with more usage of electricity comes exorbitant bills.
But...imagine if you have to pay an amount which is even more than the power you have used. Well, something like this happened with Bollywood Actress Taapsee Pannu. She took to Twitter to voice her concern over Adani Electricity charging more for the power she has used in during the month. She was charged a whopping Rs 36,000 for the month of June. She even posted screenshots of the bill for the month of June and the preceding two months.
She said, "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. @Adani_Elec_Mum what kind of POWER r u charging us for?"
The pictures showed that she was charged Rs 3, 850 for the month of May and Rs 4, 390 in the April. And the sudden spike in the bill came off as a shock to the actress.
The Free Press Journal had earlier reported consumers' grief over the hefty electricity bills they were receiving from various distribution companies (discoms) like Tata Power, MSEB, Torrent, BEST, Adani Electricity etc in June.
People who have received high power bills are stunned and believe they have been charged wrongly. Many also stated that despite lockdown their consumption has been similar to the previous month or what was earlier consumed in summer.
After receiving several complaints, distribution company (discom) providers like state run Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution company Ltd (MSEDCL) and private- TATA Power, Adani, BEST, have set up quick redressal cell to deal with the problem.
Adani Mumbai Electricity Ltd (AMEL) has its dedicated 24x7 toll free helpline 19122 where the customers can register their complaints. Besides, one can also send an email to its helpdesk.
On the issue of complaints about inflated bills, MSEB Chief Public Relation Official Anil Kamble had earlier told The Free Press Journal, "Due to lockdown, consumers were asked to avail facility of self metre reading, which was sadly availed by only 2.60 lakh customers of a total 2.70 crore customers across the state. They just had to click a picture of the metre and upload it on website or app, which they failed to do and hence received an average bill of the previous three months (December, January and February), which are winter months, for consumption in March, April, May (summer months), which was relatively low for and an average bill sent was under charged. Now in June, the uncharged amount is added in June month's bill, which they think is high. However, we are addressing the issues."
An Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited official explained, "We have re-started physical meter reading which was temporarily halted since March because of Covid-19. Bills were generated on lower side being an average of preceding three months i.e. Dec, Jan & Feb, which are winter months. Actual consumption in the months of Apr, May & June is comparatively higher due to seasonal impact (summer) and increased usage (advent of Lockdown/Work from Home). Now the consumers will start receiving the bills based on their actual consumption with appropriate tariff slab benefits. The bill amount for the past period shall be accounted as per MERC guidelines."
