Decision on provide concession on increased electricity bills to be announced by Diwali

A few months back, Mumbaikars complained of inflated electricity bills which were sent by the companies during the coronavirus pandemic. However, Energy Minister, Dr Nitin Raut, in a recent press conference has confirmed that the government is working towards this positive discussions are underway whereby concessions may be provided to the general public regarding the increased electricity bills received during the lockdown. He added that the decision regarding the matter is likely to be taken by Diwali

Dr Raut addressed the media after his visit to the Tata Thermal Power Plant in Trombay and while replying to a question posed by the reporter on rising electricity bills, he said the lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 has adversely affected the employment of many people across the city. Further, the use of electricity had also increased as people were forced to stay at homes, which eventually led to an increase in the bill amount. Observing this, several Mumbaikars have demanded relief regarding these concerns, and discussions are underway.

Sharing more about the recent power outage he said that the Tata Group has started working on several projects for power generation in Mumbai, under Tata Power. In 1981, the company had also set up an island system to prevent blackouts in the city, however, the recent power outage on October 12, 2020, has posed many questions and clearly needs better measures.

Keeping this in mind, the Department of Energy has appointed a technical audit committee to find out the cause of the power outage and thereby suggest potential solutions. The Central Electricity Authority and the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) have also appointed separate committees. Based on the findings of the three groups, the report will be presented to the MERC, and the team will decide the next steps to improve the power transmission system as well as the island system for Mumbai. Furthermore, officials are also working on implementing modern measures by next year, informed Energy Minister Nitin Raut.

Teams have been directed to set up an efficient communication and coordination between Mahatrans, SLDC, Tata Power and Adani Power Company to prevent repeating the October 12 incident.

Mumbai's electricity demand and needs are expected to reach around 5,000 MW by 2030, and keeping this in mind, officials have to work towards providing uninterrupted power supply to Mumbai, and due consideration will have to be given to increase power generation, planning, production rate, etc.