Mumbai, June 30: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday stepped in after people started complaining about the exorbitant electricity bill and accused power companies of issuing inflated invoices. In a tweet, the CM said that the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has directed power companies to show "transparency in their billing procedures." Adani Electricity Mumbai Posts Video Explaining How It Calculated Electricity Bills Amid COVID-19 Pandemic; Here’s How You Can Verify Your Electricity Bill.

“Taking the stock of the rising number of consumer complaints related to exorbitant electricity bills, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has directed power companies to show transparency in its billing procedures and redress consumer complaints immediately,” Thackeray tweeted. Mumbaikars Feel the Heat of Inflated Electricity Bills, Angry Consumers Question MSEDCL, Adani Power on Twitter.

Maharashtra CMO Tweet:

Earlier, Mumbaikars had taken to social media platform in distress after receiving inflated electricity bills. Several people have complained of exorbitant invoices amid the lockdown.

Actress Taapsee Pannu, while sharing an image of her electricity said that she has received a bill of Rs 36,000. "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," she tweeted, adding that the bill for April and May was around Rs 4,000.

Power companies, however, denied inflating bills. Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) said: “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 the preceding three months (December, January and February), which are winter months.”

It added that the consumption in months of April, May and June is high due to seasonal impact. Furthermore, the usage is also increased as more people are working and studying from home.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 30, 2020 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).