Mumbai: ₹63k crore arrears, MSEDCL warns of cutting power supply

With ₹63,740 crore arrears pending till the end of December 2020, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has directed all regional offices to recover the dues immediately or cut-off power supply

With ₹63,740 crore arrears pending till the end of December 2020, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has directed all regional offices to recover the dues immediately or cut-off power supply. It has also asked its offices to conduct campaigns to recover the dues.

(HT Representational Picture)

MSEDCL supplies power to the entire state and some parts of the eastern suburbs in Mumbai. It has over two crore consumers in the state. Assem Kumar Gupta, managing director and chairman, MSEDCL said that the pandemic has added to the ever-increasing financial woes of the state discom.

“In March 2020, the arrears were around ₹40,000 crore. In the last nine months, MSEDCL has faced an additional burden of more than ₹1,200 crore per month. We have now given two directives to the regional offices - one is to take the top to bottom approach in recovering dues and the second is to give immediately resolve all pending complaints. We know that cutting off supply is not a win-win situation for anyone,” Gupta said.

Following job loss and assurances by the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government over providing relief over-inflated bills, more than 60 lakh consumers in the state had not paid a single rupee towards their bills between April and November 2020, adding to the financial woes of the discom.

In August 2020, the state had said that it is planning to waive excess bill by bearing the surplus amount for the months of April, May and June. State energy minister Nitin Raut in October had also said that consumers will get good news during Diwali. However, in November, in a complete turnaround, Raut announced that the state will not be able to provide any relief to consumers owing to its poor financial status and lack of aid from the Central government.

The announcement came as a shock to thousands of consumers, who had reported inflated bills during the lockdown period. Reacting to the warning issued by the state, a consumer, who did not wish to be named, said, “The state moved from its stance to waiving off excess bills to saying that we will now cut-off power supply. This is acceptable for repeated offenders, not for people who have received wrong bills.”

Pratap Hogade, a power activist, “The state energy minister had assured citizens that they will provide relief and not disconnect power. How can they threaten consumers now? We (various associations) are now demanding that the state should provide 50% waiver for the six-month lockdown period. We will not let the state disconnect power supply till they meet our demands.”

Meanwhile, Swabhiman Shetkari Sanghatana chief Raju Shetti along with power consumer forums met state energy minister Nitin Raut on Wednesday after MSEDCL stated that the discom will cut power supply in case of pending bills. Shetti said that the state cannot cut power supply after assuring consumers of relief. “We have demanded complete waiver of three months for residential consumers. The government has to accept this.” Raut later told mediapersons that the state will take an appropriate decision on the matter.