To stem its ever-mounting financial losses, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking tabled a proposal before the Maharashtra Electric Regulatory Commission (MERC) to recover their deficit, which ran into Rs 5,537 crore from Mumbaikars by levying ‘transport cess’ for the next four fiscals.

Among the few options that BEST mentions is asking consumers of all power distributors — which are Reliance Infra, Tata Power and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited (MSEDCL) — to share the burden of its losses, a report in this newspaper stated yesterday. It also said that citizens across Mumbai will need to pay for it.