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MSEDCL: More Than 64 Lakh Consumers Didn’t Pay Their Electricity Bills Since April


MSEDCL: More Than 64 Lakh Consumers Didn’t Pay Their Electricity Bills Since April
SHARES

As per data shared by the Maharashtra Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), approximately 64.52 lakh customers in the state haven’t paid their electricity bills since April 1 this year.

Read Also- Decision On Provide Concession On Increased Electricity Bills To Be Announced By Diwali

A circular issued by the MSEDCL earlier this month showed that non-payment of electricity dues had reached ₹7,154 crores as of October. Around ₹946 crores of pending dues are from high-end users while low-end user dues came to around ₹5,089 crores at the time. 

Moreover, the agency hasn’t recovered the ₹700 crores owed for providing power to street lights and other civic amenities. Overall, the MSEDCL’s arrears stood at ₹59,149 crore by the end of October.

“The employees have been asked to get in touch with consumers and public representatives to give them information about the various schemes and achieve their targets by year-end,” a senior official from the agency said. It’s worth noting that MSEDCL supplies power to more than 2 crore customers in the state of Maharashtra.

Also read'No Relaxation In The Inflated Electricity Bills': Energy Minister Nitin Raut

Although the State Government was mulling the waiving of excess electricity bills by paying the dues from its coffers, Energy Minister Nitin Raut said earlier this week that the state would be unable to provide relief to consumers due to a financial crunch while also citing lack of support from the Central Government.

Devendra Fadnavis, the ex-Chief Minister and current Opposition Leader (BJP) criticized the Uddhav Thackeray-led government for backtracking on its promises. “The MVA government is cheating the people of Maharashtra. The announcement was done by some of the ministers after a cabinet meeting. Now they have been saying that it was not possible because of the financial burden. To cover up their failure, the ministers have now been pointing fingers at the Central government,” he said.

“The state government should not have announced the bill waiver in the first place when it was not possible to give one due to the financial constraints. The Centre was ready to give loans to the electricity companies, why did not the state government opt for it?” Fadnavis added.

ReadMaharashtra’s Electricity Consumption Dropped By 13% Between January-August 2020

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