Residents of Khar reject RInfra electronic meters

Reliance Infrastructure’s drive to install mandatory electronic meters has hit a roadblock, as residents of Khar have threatened to switch to Tata Power en masse, if the former persists in its drive.

Reliance Infrastructure’s drive to install mandatory electronic meters has hit a roadblock, as residents of Khar have threatened to switch to Tata Power en masse, if the former persists in its drive. This follows numerous complaints of inflated bills from locals who have installed these new meters.

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According to a directive from the Central Electricity Authority, it had become mandatory for every electricity distribution company to replace old meters with new electronic meters.

Aftab Siddiqui, chairperson of the 33 Road, Khar ALM, said, “Reliance has been trying to bully us into installing faulty electronic meters, despite the fact that they haven’t been able to resolve complaints of inflated bills by those who have already installed these meters. We have decided to switch over to Tata Power.”

Sunil Wagh, a resident of Linking Road, Khar, said. “I have a family of five staying in a 1 BHK home. Our bills have gone from Rs 2,000, to Rs 5,000 after installing these new electronic meters.”

Ravi Muthreja, a Reliance spokesperson, dismissed the charges. “The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) had tested a random sample of about 3,800 meters across the city and found them to be working fine,” Muthreja said. He added, “Electricity fares have also gone up. Hence, consumers would have to pay more for the same usage. However, we’ll look at these complaints afresh and hear them out.”