Mumbai residents raise concerns over smart electricity meter rollout

Residents across Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR have raised serious concerns over the ongoing rollout of smart electricity meters alleging unexplained spikes in electricity bills faulty billing arbitrary disconnections and poor customer supportConsumers from Mumbai Thane Badlapur and Virar told midday they witnessed bills doubling or even tripling despite no significant change in electricity consumption Several said they have sought meter testing but are still awaiting action while consumer activists have accused utilities of financial irregularities violations of government guidelines and breaches of consumer rights Power companies are expected to respond to the allegations in the next part of this seriesRDSS compliance questionedResidents stage a protest in Matunga against the installation of smart electricity meters alleging inflated bills and lack of transparencyActivists allegegtgt Installations continue despite RDSS officially ending in March 2026gtgt Private utilities are procuring meters through thirdparty manufacturersgtgt Procurement and installation costs are allegedly far higher than actual purchase pricesPriya PaildquoIf utilities are buying meters for a fraction of what consumers ultimately pay serious questions arise about compliance with the scheme and transparency in procurementrdquoConsumer rightsResidents protest against the rollout of smart electricity meters in Vile Parle raising concerns over billing and consumer rightsActivists argue consumers may not have been adequately informed aboutgtgt Meter replacementgtgt Prepaid versus postpaid optionsgtgt Consent requirementsgtgt Legal Metrology certificationThey also question whether replacing every functioning meter limits consumer choice under Electricity ActConfusion over prepaid metersAccording to activists government messaging has shifted repeatedlyInitially Smart meters would not be installedLater Only prepaid meters would not be installedSubsequently Smart meters may eventually become prepaidPrashant GajjarldquoContradictory statements have confused consumers and weakened public confidencerdquoCommon complaintsgtgt Bills doubled or tripled after smart meter installationgtgt No increase in electricity usage despite higher billsgtgt Consumers awaiting meter accuracy testsgtgt Difficulty reaching call centres and chatbotsgtgt Electricity disconnected despite pending complaintsgtgt Confusion over prepaid and postpaid metersgtgt Consumers allege meters installed without consentActivists raise larger questionsConsumer activists Priya Pai Prashant Gajjar and Kamlakar Shenoy have alleged that the smart meter rollout suffers from financial legal and regulatory irregularities They have demanded greater transparency from utilities and the government Activists are alleging financial concernsgtgt National RDSS allocation announced at around Rs 303 lakh croregtgt Around Rs 1800 crore reportedly spent in Mumbaigtgt BEST allegedly sanctioned only Rs 659 croregtgt Functional digital meters being replacedgtgt Consumers allegedly paying despite public fundingKamlakar ShenoyldquoCrores of taxpayersrsquo money have already been spent on procuring smart meters yet consumers are again being asked to bear replacement costs Authorities must explain how public money is being utilisedrdquoWhat nextTomorrow Power companies respond to the allegations and explain the smart meter rollout billing mechanism and consumer grievance processConsumer voicesAnna Tony SantacruzlsquoOur electricity bill usually never crossed Rs 7000 but it jumped to Rs 11000 in April and Rs 14000 in May Our landlord never informed us that a smart meter had been installed and our usage has remained the same Last year even when the AC was running almost throughout the day and night we consumed around 600 units But our April and May bills show nearly 999 units even though two of the four of us were out of town for almost 20 days I simply donrsquot understand how thatrsquos possiblersquoRobin Viegas retired electrical engineer KalinalsquoMy smart meter was installed on March 31 but I am still not being billed under the Time of Day tariff so I donrsquot receive the rebate for daytime usage After I received a WhatsApp alert about a possible leakage the chatbot couldnrsquot understand my complaint emails went unanswered and calls to the helpline kept getting disconnected In short the meters are getting smarter while the customer agents and chatbot are turning dumbrsquoSanjay Sharma VakolalsquoOur electricity was disconnected for maintenance from January to May because of an overload issue yet we continued receiving monthly bills of over Rs 1000 A smart meter was installed in June without our consent We received neither an email nor a hardcopy bill and only discovered it online after our tenants lost power on July 16 We paid immediately and the supply was restored but we never agreed to a prepaid smart meter and want our postpaid meter backrsquoAnkit VermalsquoBefore the smart meter our monthly bill was consistently between Rs 500 and Rs 1000 We havenrsquot increased our consumption yet for the past two months wersquove been billed over Rs 3000 Irsquove asked MSEDCL to test the meter and verify my billing history Consumers shouldnrsquot be forced to pay inflated bills unless the utility can scientifically prove the higher consumption is genuinersquoAshish Soni BadlapurlsquoMy monthly bill has been around Rs 850 for the past five years but suddenly I received a bill of Rs 7250 for two months despite no significant change in consumption I paid for meter testing on June 17 but despite followups Irsquove only been told to wait and pay the bill to avoid disconnection Unless meter is tested and my complaint is resolved I will not pay disputed amountrsquoJayant Bagdu BhanduplsquoWe are bachelors living in Bhandup and use electricity mostly at night Yet after the smart meter was installed we received bills of Rs 10080 and Rs 9380 in two months The local office says the bills are normal but we want them revised and billing based on the actual meter readingsrsquoDharmendra Keshavrao Verma Virar WestlsquoOur consumption was always around 200300 units but the bills suddenly showed it rising to 407 units in April 599 in May and 700 in June We asked the power company in April to check the meter and withheld payment for May while waiting for a resolution Officials visited on July 1 but on July 17 our electricity was remotely disconnected through the smart meter We were never informed that the meter had been replaced received no prior notice of disconnection and have been left without power for two daysrsquoBy the numbersComplaint Reported by consumersPrevious monthly bills Rs 500Rs 1000 many casesNew monthly bills Rs 3000Rs 14000Highest reported jump Rs 850 to Rs 7250Units consumed in one case Around 600 to nearly 999 unitsPending complaint before Up to one monthdisconnection