Consumers on Friday afternoon stormed the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) office in Tardeo, claiming that they had received astronomical power bills which had jumped from just Rs 1,000 to an unbelievable Rs 1 lakh.
Consumers were charged modest power bills in August that were paid in September as BEST servers could not read electricity and generate bills as usual. “I got a bill of Rs 6, 000 for August which was the usual bill my family of three incurs because of the air-conditioner that is switched on only in the afternoon and partially during the night. However, this month, I have got a bill of Rs 50,000 which is preposterous,” said Mr Robinson who lives near Maratha Mandir.
The BEST spokesperson said that bills were expected to be more for September since the actual reading of August as well as September was included and commuters had been informed via press releases in newspapers. “The issue was explained to the mob and the superintendent-in-charge at the depot spoke to the people and explained the matter,” he said.
BEST general manager Jagdish Patil said consumers could approach local BEST offices and register their grievances. “Consumers can come and register their complaints and if they feel that the bill is too high, the issue will definitely be addressed,” said Mr Patil. BEST provides power to 35 lakh consumers in the island city.
