Pune residents have raised strong complaints against the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) after receiving "excessive and wrong" electricity bills for July 2025.
Rajwant Singh, a consumer from Indershila Apartment, Pune, said he was billed ₹24,310, a sharp spike compared to his usual monthly bills of ₹1,200–₹3,000. The July bill wrongly recorded the previous meter reading as '0' and the current reading as 1136, resulting in charges for 1270 units in a single cycle. He has alleged that this amounts to a clear billing error and overcharging due to incorrect entry.
'For the past few months, the bills have been exceeding'
Another resident of Mahalunge, Guneet Kaur, speaking to The Free Press Journal, said, “I was shocked to see my electricity bill this month. My bill amounts to ₹750, but I am shocked because this entire month I was not at my residence and was travelling. Even after having no usage of electricity, I received a heavy bill. This is not the first time. For the past few months, the bills have been exceeding. I demand an immediate correction of the bill, waiver of the wrong charges and an assurance that such errors will not recur.”
'I received a bill of ₹25,000'
Another resident of Swargate, Shekhar Dinkar Rao, said, “After the installation of green meters, I received a bill of ₹250 only for the past two months. Since the bills were unusually low, I contacted MSEDCL officials and informed them honestly as a responsible citizen. However, the next month I received a bill of ₹25,000. This is unacceptable. We should get the correct bills. There are many irregularities, though the officials noted down the issues and assured me they would send revised bills. My concern is why the bills do not show the correct readings. Something should be done in this regard. MSEDCL should take urgent action, as the inflated bill has caused unnecessary harassment and financial burden.”
'One has to run from pillar to post to get the bills resolved'
Sharika Pradhan, a resident of Aundh, said, “There is some major fault with the installation of smart meters. The bills we are receiving are too high, and we want the authorities to look into it. Last month, I received a bill of ₹17,000, whereas my usual bills are ₹2,000–₹2,500. Though I got it corrected, one has to run from pillar to post to get the bills resolved.”
'Received only one complaint'
Meanwhile, an MSEDCL officer told FPJ, “So far, we have installed around 15,000 smart meters in the past six months and have received only one complaint. Based on that, we checked the owner’s meter, and the readings were correct, which the owner also agreed to when our team inspected it. Sometimes, if an owner had a faulty meter in the past, after installing a new smart meter, the readings may differ, but mostly they are correct. We urge citizens who feel their bills are high to reach out to their regional MSEDCL office and get their meters checked.”
