Three months back, when state power watchdog held hearings on issues related to puffed up power bills suburban consumers have been receiving, none of the political leaders bothered to show up. Now that general elections are around the corner, and outcry over inflated bills is making headlines, the people's representatives are crying hoarse on behalf of the aggrieved consumer.
Activists and experts who attended the meetigs say that in August and September, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission invited the public, their representatives and power experts to question the hike sought by power companies Reliance Infrastructure (now taken over by Adani Electricity), Tata Power, BEST and MSEDCL. But the netas were a no-show.
"There were notices in newspapers for people to come forth with objections. Now, only after public outcry, the political parties have taken notice," said Pratap Hogade, president, Maharashtra State Power Consumers Association.
"The public representatives did not bother to attend the meetings and raise the people's issues at MERC hearings. Now that elections are few months away, these parties are coming forward," Hogade said.
Experts claim that even local politicians do not understand the functionality of the power sector; they have little knowledge of how tariffs are cleared.
Activists say the issue of inflated bills from Adani Electricity dates back to its predecessor, Reliance Infrastructure, which had calculated the tariffs and proposed them to MERC.
"None of the political parties raised their voices while MERC heard the revised tariffs presented," said Ashok Pendse, power expert. "Throughout India, the suburbs of Mumbai is a peculiar in nature as people have option to change the power distributor if they feel electricity bills are inflated".
At the public hearing that lasted for 15-30 minutes, MERC restricted repetition of consumer activists and their petitions. The activists claim that this also narrowed the scope for them to present their points against the tariff hike.
Purushottam Karhade, convener of Urja Prabodhan Kendra, "The revision is part of multi-year tariff that was pre-planned. I do not see any special reason for protests. People who have got higher bill are free to approach them and get it resolved. I think these political parties are intervening due to elections".
During September and October, electricity bills are normally higher due to the heat, which could have led to a hike in bills.
The experts advise people to compare their consumption pattern over the months.
Meanwhile AEML said that they have set up camps at Kandivali, Bhayandar, Bandra, Chembur, Goregaon and Andheri to resolve issues faced by electricity consumers.