Power bills as high as monthly rent a ‘rude shock’ in Palava

Mumbai: More than 300 residents of Palava, a posh township in Dombivli, are facing a peculiarly disturbing situation—their power bills for the past many months are not just inflated, in some cases, they are higher than the monthly rent or close to the home loan EMIs they pay for their flats. And the difference isn't a small one either. Those who received power dues in the range of Rs 2,000-Rs 2,500 per month for their 2BHK flats before March, are now getting bills as high as Rs 15,000-30,000 a month for the past four months. So much so that a resident had to take a personal loan to clear his Rs 20,000 outstanding bill to avoid disconnection.

This, the residents allege, is due to the change of old meters to smart meters. A Mahavitaran official, though, said it was due to the unavailability of a person who collects meter readings. "The person has not reported to duty, so physical meter readings haven't been taken for the past four months. We're looking for a replacement, but till then, average readings are being issued," said an MSEDCL official when approached by a resident.

While Mahavitaran authorities also claim some meter readings are genuine due to high consumption during summer, residents hit by the power jolt said they have been suffering for eight months straight. "Last winter, for the months of Dec, Jan and Feb, when air-conditioners weren't used, I received a monthly bill of Rs 16,000 against Rs 1,800-2,000 during the same period the year before," claimed one, adding there "seems to be a major billing scam".

New Zealand-based Vinay Kumar Jaiswal, who owns a flat in Palava, said it has been vacant for five years but he has received a bill of over Rs 10,000 for June, even when the meter put against his flat shows zero reading. There were others away during summer vacations in May, who have received power bills upwards of Rs 10,000. Resident Unmesh Rahatade, who received a power bill of Rs 3,860 for March, was handed a bill of Rs 28,920 for June and Rs 19,650 for July.

A Palava housing society member said, "Mahavitaran authorities told us the issue is between the power distributor and individual subscriber, and the society doesn't need to interfere as consumers can approach redressal forums."

Jagdish Bodke, executive engineer of Kalyan east division of MSEDCL, told TOI, the problem is due to poor network in some housing complexes or areas. "There are 7,600 consumers whose meter reading has not been coming from SIM card due to network issues. Therefore, these people were issued higher bills mentioning ‘Reading Not Taken or Reading Not Available'. We installed boosters in some areas, and reading has started coming in for some. The problem now remains with only 1,400 TOD meters. This problem should end in the next few days. Those who have paid higher bills will see an adjustment or reduction in their future bills."

(With inputs by Pradeep Gupta)



Get an chance to win ₹5000 Amazon Voucher by taking part in India's Biggest Habit Index! Take the survey here