After actress Taapsee Pannu took to Twitter to call out Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited over an inflated electricity bill for the month of June, celebrities like Renuka Shahane, Ranvir Shorey, Huma Qureshi, Amyra Dastur, Kamya Punjabi and Dino Morea voiced similar complaints.
"3 months of lockdown and I wonder what appliance(s) I have newly used or bought in the apartment only last month to have such an insane rise in my electricity bill @Adani_Elec_Mum. What kind of POWER are you charging us for," Taapsee questioned while sharing the electricity bill for the last three months. While the bill for the month of June is Rs 36,000, it was Rs 4,390 for April and Rs 3,850 for May.
READ MORE: Taapsee Pannu complains about 'insane rise' in electricity bill for June, power provider reacts
Soon after, Huma Qureshi took to Twitter demanding an explanation. "What are these new electricity rates ?? @Adani_Elec_Mum. Last month I paid 6k .. and this month 50 k ????!!! What is this new price surge ?? Kindly enlighten us," wrote Huma.
"Dear @Adani_Elec_Mum I got a bill of Rs5510/= on the 9th of May while in June I got a bill of Rs 29,700 combining May & June where you've charged me Rs 18080 for the month of May. How did Rs.5510/= become Rs.18080," tweeted Renuka Shahane.
Called it a ‘scam’, Ranvir Shorey tweeted, "The 21st century, a free market and a pandemic are apparently not enough for us to still be held to ransom by electric power companies like @Adani_Elec_Mum #scam #shame.”
In his tweet, comedian Vir Das asked Mumbaikars if anyone was getting an electricity bill that is triple of what they usually pay. The response to his tweet was a flood of complaints by netizens, including celebrities. Among them were actress Shruti Seth, actor Dino Moria, comedian Kaneez Surka, actress Kamya Punjabi, singer Ankur Tewari and actress Amyra Dastur.
“Omg yes! And, I freaking shifted to my mom and dad's house in April! They've been charging my flat which I haven't lived in for 3 months, double of what I would pay actually living there! Mine is best. Do you know how to stop this nonsense," tweeted Amyra.
Dino Morea tweeted: "I was just going to tweet about it. Literally got a shock, pun intended. There was no surge in electricity, just the bill."
Within hours, Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited extended a clarification in the issue. "We have re-started physical meter reading which was temporarily halted since March because of Covid-19. Bills were generated on the lower side, being an average of preceding three months that is, December, January and February, which are winter months. Actual consumption in the months of April, May and June is comparatively higher due to seasonal impact (summer) and increased usage (advent of Lockdown/WfH). The bill amount for the past period shall be accounted as per the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) guidelines. The consumers will start receiving the bills based on their actual consumption with appropriate tariff slab benefits,” said a spokesperson of Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML), who have faced complaints by several consumers including Taapsee. On Taapsee's claims, the AEML spokesperson said, "Upon receipt of the complaint, we have verified the meter reading and found to be correct."