MUMBAI, July 31: State govt is expected to give relief to crores of electricity consumers who complained about inflated bills during lockdown.
A presentation was made by the power firms on how the bills were generated during the Covid-19 lockdown period and also the tariff structure. “We explained how winter month consumption was used for estimated/average bills during lockdown (April-May) and subsequently, when the actual meter readings were taken in June, the bill amount went up,” he said, adding that ministers will take a call on how to give “relief” to consumers. “It could be anything from rebates to reduction in power tariff, but nothing is finalized,”’ the official said.
In a meeting with ministers, an official of power utility firm said, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and few other Cabinet Ministers, Officials from state power department along with officials from Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), had a meeting , on how to give relief to consumers and drafted a proposal to MERC, which once cleared by the regulator, will be tabled at the cabinet meeting next week.
Senior officials have said the government will announce a rebate or tariff reduction. Shiv Sena’s leader and Cabinet Minister Anil Parab said the debate was about extending consumer relief.
Unless a final proposal was received from the state government it is not possible to comment, said a MERC source.
There should be a waiver on bills during lockdown to those consuming up to 300 units, more than 94% residential consumers fall in this slab. It will cost the state exchequer around Rs 3,700 crore to provide relief, Power consumer activist Pratap Hogade said.
Former MP, Kirit Somaiya appealed to MERC during the lockdown time demanding free electricity of 100 units and a 50 per cent concession for up to 300 units. Aam Aadmi Party was also on the outlook for residential market relief for consumption of up to 200 units.
