Maharashtra: PIL filed in Bombay High Court against high electricity bills

Mubarak Ansari

Mumbai/Pune, July 2, 2020: A group of lawyers have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court against the high electricity bills received by people in Maharashtra. PIL seeks deferment of revision in tariff by the state during the lockdown due to which the consumers have received inflated electricity bills. The petition also seeks waiver of fixed charges (wheeling charges, energy charges, fuel adjustment charges and electricity duty etc). 

The petition is drawn by Adv Rajesh Inamdar, Amit Pai, Kalyani Tulankar, Feroz Khan, Smita Pandey, Awais Khan and filed by Adv Ranjit D Shinde on behalf of petitioner Mahibub Shaikh (62) of Solapur. The petitioner has approached the court feeling aggrieved by the unrealistically inflated electricity charges levied upon the consumers by the State and private discoms, at a time when the consumers are already reeling under the burden of the severe financial stress caused due to the situation created by the COVID19 pandemic.

“Various anomalies are found in the inflated bills received by the consumers for June 2020. The petitioner and other similarly placed consumers across the State have been complaining about the unrealistically inflated bills by State discoms (power distribution companies) as well as private discoms. The wrong calculation has hit the citizen for not taking the reading for three months, hence the consumers have to pay extra unit rate”, the PIL states.

The petitioner has requested direction to the respondents – state government and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) – to defer or to calculate the bill based upon the previous rates. It may result into certain financial losses to the State government, however, it is submitted that the larger public interest has to be seen which in the present case is removing the already existing financial burden on the consumers who have already lost their jobs or who are facing serious financial issues to earn for their livelihood or whose businesses have been shut because of the lockdown. 

The petitioner has prayed the High Court to 

• Direct the respondents to extend the benefit of exemption/ waiver of fixed charges / minimum demand, Wheeling charges, energy charges, fuel adjustment charges, electricity duty, etc. and other charges and taxes on electricity for a period of six months or as the period as the Court may deem fit; 

• Direct the respondents to roll back/defer the revised tariff and continue charging as per the tariff existed prior to 01.04.2020; 

• Constitute a high-level fact-finding committee set up either by the Court who be directed to probe into the matter to look into the reasons for the sudden upsurge in consumption/ other reasons which might have led to increase in electricity bills in the State other than the rise in tariffs w.e.f. 01.4.2020 and the recommended corrective steps which may benefit the consumers during such testing times and to ensure that the consumers are not burdened to pay any amount towards this unrealistically high power bills

• Direct the respondents not to take any coercive steps for disconnecting electricity connection in case of failure to make payments until the aforesaid matter is decided

• Direct the respondents to set up help desk/kiosk at convenient places to enable the consumers to approach the helpdesk to clarify doubts/grievances of the consumers

•  Direct the respondents to evolve an effective mechanism to adjudicate and resolve the complaints of the consumers within a reasonable time not exceeding seven days from the date of making the complaint.