Hiked Electricity Bills: Petition filed by Bombay HC seeking interim stay on bill payments

Amid the complaints of hiked electricity bills in Maharashtra, a petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court (HC) seeking the reduction in the bill amount and directions for the state government and power distribution companies to provide relief.  

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed by a Mumbai-based businessman Ravindra Desai demanding the government and discom companies including Adani Electricity and Tata Power to strategise so that the express power bills could be avoided in the future. 

The petitioner has sought an interim stay on the payment for the electricity bill generated for June during the lockdown period which many have a complaint is more than their monthly average. Desai wants the HC to put a stay on the payment of power bills for each citizen and waiver of late payment charges. 

On June 29, Desai filed the petition after he received his electricity bill which was 10 times more than his usual bill. The petition mentions that the people in Maharashtra have faced losses due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown which followed. 

Since the PIL seeks directions to the state government along with discom companies to provide relief, it names Ministry of Energy, the state-owned MahaVitaran, Tata Power, Adani Electricity and the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Board (MERC). 

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut said that all Mahavitaran’s consumers can pay their electricity bill for June in three instalments. The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MahaVitaran) has allowed EMI option for paying the bill. 

Moreover, Adani Electricity which distributes power in Mumbai's suburbs also offered the EMI option for its consumers for three to 24 months for paying the electricity bill while stating that the extra units will be divided in the meter readings of June and July if the same has been hiked in April and May. 

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