Pending Mahadiscom power bill mounts to Rs 30,000 crore

Mumbai: Electricity bill totalling up to Rs 30,000 crore has not been paid to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahadiscom) by its consumers including farmers, residential consumers and even government-owned bodies.

The highest arrears of Rs 18,300 crore is by users of agriculture pumps, followed by permanently disconnected consumers, who have dues of Rs 6,500 crore and municipal corporations, who have not paid Rs 2,500 crore for streetlights.

The distribution company has been so far only  cut the power for defaulters but not taken any stringent measures for recovery of the money.

As per the information obtained from Mahadiscom, others who have outstanding dues to Mahadiscom include residential consumers who have not paid Rs 1,150 crore and the water supply scheme of the government, which has not paid Rs 1,000 crore. The powerlooms sector owes around Rs 1,200 crore and the industries sector has dues of Rs 250 crore. The total outstanding dues add up to Rs 30,000 crore.

“The Mahadiscom, as per the process, sends notices to the consumers to pay dues within a certain period. If the dues are not paid then we disconnect electricity,” an official from the energy department said.

“But many a time, public schemes like water supply and streetlights are affected. Hence, stringent measures are not taken against them. But there are a few consumers who do not pay electricity bills at all. We have categorised them in the permanently disconnected consumers. They do not get electricity connection,” he said.

The Mahadiscom has about 2.45 crore consumers, of which 24 per cent have been categorised as permanently disconnected consumers. Problems of theft and illegal extension also creates hassles for the distribution company, which has to face losses, the official added.