AAP launches statewide campaign against hiked electricity bills in Maharashtra

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a state-wide campaign in Maharashtra against the hike electricity bills during lockdown months. Many have raised the issue of increased power bills by taking the social media saying that their bills for the month of June are more than their monthly average. 

The AAP in Maharashtra has demanded the Maharashtra government to provide relief to domestic consumers who have consumed up to 200 units. AAP launched a campaign and a website - hisaabdo.in - to register complaints with Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Committee (MERC) about the power hike bills. 

The party said that the hiked power bills have affected the poor and middle class who is already troubled due to the economic slowdown and uncertainty of the future amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The website also has a built-in 'Bill Calculator' to enable the consumers to compare their bills, with the tariffs under the Delhi Govt. Senior AAP leader Preeti Sharma Menon slammed the discom companies including state-owned MahaViataran for sending bills to customers which have a higher slab of payments. 

"We were told that privatisation, will improve overall efficiency, by promoting competition and the benefits being passed onto the end consumer, but instead we have seen only sky-high bills with Mahavitaran, going to the extent of saying payments haven't been adjusted, despite being made and Adani Power looking at power distribution not as a public utility but as a cash cow,” Menon said. 

Ranga Rachure, AAP Maharashtra Convenor, demanded that consumption of up to 200 units of electricity be made free for the domestic consumer as well as rationalisation of fares across the board by the MERC. 

Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut had earlier announced that all Mahavitaran’s consumers can pay their electricity bill for June in three instalments. The minister had said that corrections will be made in the electricity bills for those who have been given average bills in April and May despite their premises being locked. 

Recently, Raut said that power companies must provide concession to consumers to pay the electricity bill at zero interest rate. No power should be cut even in case of any (payment) arrears, the minister added. 

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