03 September,2026 08:07 AM IST | Mumbai | Sarthak Mehta
Activist Suhail Khan sits on dharna outside an MSEDCL sub-division office in Virar West on Tuesday. Pic/By Special Arrangement
A Virar-based activist's battle against smart meters is ongoing as he sits on a âdharna' outside a Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) sub-divisional office in Virar West.
The activist, Suhail Khan, told mid-day that while being on what has now been a "month-long dharna," which started with his own case, he received over 700 grievances from citizens saying they were victims of "excess billing" and officials at the MSEDCL were unable to help.
[popcorn number="3500" desc="No of grievances received" class="Default"]
An MSEDCL spokesperson said such smart meter-specific complaints had been specially addressed by officials for thousands of consumers over the last two months, and regular grievance redressal continues to function at all the sub-divisional offices, including the Virar one.
>> Remove smart meters installed without consent and reinstall conventional meters
>> Immediate correction of excessive bills
>> 30% electricity bill reduction
>> New transformers of sufficient capacity
>> Withhold recovery until a free meter test is conducted
>> Setting up of a permanent grievance redressal cell
>> Stop forced smart meter implementation
>> Redressal of grievances within 15 days
>> Provide free standard check meters
>> Organise âJan-Adalat' for direct bill amendment
>> Immediate restoration of disconnected electricity and fan supply at the protest site
"My understanding of the issue is firsthand; after a smart meter was installed, our bill jumped from the usual approximate Rs 4000 to around Rs 12,000, then it dropped to Rs 9000 and later to Rs 6000. However, it didn't go back to what we used to pay earlier. Lakhs of Vasai-Virar residents have simply adjusted because of time and effort constraints. There are many cases where the family wasn't even at their homes or experienced a disrupted electricity connection due to rains, yet they received unrealistic bills," stated Khan.
"In the Vasai-Virar-Palghar jurisdiction, around 3500 grievances were received during our special invites in July. We had addressed all of them with rectifications made to bill amounts in many genuine cases. To clear consumers' doubts regarding the meter's accuracy, we conducted ground-level consultations. We installed the older digital meter parallel to the newer smart meter for the critiques to observe. Consumers who are still facing any issues can reach out to any of our sub-divisional offices, where officials remain on standby to help them," stated an MSEDCL spokesperson.
Speaking to mid-day in July, Minister of State for Energy Meghna Bordikar had said that it is not true that smart meters are not compulsory. "We have to convert all digital or manual meters to smart meters," she had said. Responding to a question on consumers' inflated bill allegations, Bordikar had clarified that billing follows rules laid down by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), which the government cannot meddle with.
"I am sitting here to represent the citizens who are affected. The vest with holes I have worn is deliberate, to convey a message to the government and authorities that their move has left citizens in this looted situation," said Khan.
"I have noted the mobile number, address, consumer number, and concerns of all 700+ of them, but every time officials speak with us, they refuse to accept that the issue is with the smart meters and just keep repeating their advantages," he added.
