Maharashtra govt refuses to waive off electricity bills, puts onus on Centre for relief

In a setback for Maharashtra citizens, the state government on Friday, refused to waive of power bills reiterating that it will have to be paid. Putting the onus on Centre, Maharashtra energy minister Nitin Raut said that if the Centre will provide relief, the state will follow. Opposition parties like BJP and MNS have often protested against the inflated power bills in Maharashtra during COVID lockdown.

Maha: "Electricity bills will not be waived"

BJP: State betrayed people

In November, the state govt had hinted at a 'Diwali bonanza' to ease the woes of the consumers, but later backtracked saying that consumers have to pay the full amount of the power bill as it was not possible for Mahavitaran to incur further debt at this stage. Noting that the country's largest electricity distribution utility was already under a debt of Rs. 69,000 crore, Raut had highlighted that the Centre had offered to give a loan at 10.8 percent interest, which he described as "too high". At the same time, the people have been given the option of paying the bill amount in three installments.

In response, ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis remarked, "In a way, this government betrayed the people. I still remember the day that the state Cabinet met. After the Cabinet meeting, their leaders announced that we have decided to give relaxation in the electricity bills. They pat their own backs and got their hoardings done. Even the poorest of the poor person received such a hefty bill for three months which he will not get even after using all electrical appliances 24/7 for 5 years." He reckoned that Mahavitaran's financial viability will not be affected if the state government decides to borrow up to Rs.1,500-2,000 crore to help the consumers.

The 'inflated' power bills

In July 2020, as lockdown eased, consumers across the state took to Twitter to complain about the higher-than-average electricity bills. Inspite of complaints, power companies denied such allegations - attributing the increased bills to increased usage and lack of meter reading amid lockdown. Explaining the issue Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) issued a statement that said that as the company had started physical meter reading which was temporarily halted since March because of COVID-19, bills for the previous months were low. It added that the cumulative bills of March, April, May were higher as the consumption was high due to more people working from home. Both Tata Power and MSEDL issued similar statements.