MSEDCLsays the spike in costs is connected to the incredibly hot summer season, which caused higher usage of air-conditioners, coolers and fridges
KALYAN: Nationwide demonstrations versus wise electrical power meters have actually reached the Kalyan-Dombivli belt, with numerous customers declaring their regular monthly expenses have actually increased 3 to 5 times regardless of no significant modification in home power intake.While homeowners desire an independent technical audit of the freshly set up meters, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) keeps the greater costs are because of increased summer season usage and the more precise recording of clever meters.
Homeowners of Runwal Gardens, Dombivli, declare their month-to-month expenses have, typically, increased from Rs 2,000-2,500 to Rs 8,000-10,000. Ahmed Salman Imtiaz’s expense leapt from Rs 3,000 in Feb to Rs 14,000 in Apr.”We set up an air conditioning in Apr, so we had actually anticipated a greater expense, however this was high,”he stated.
The household purposely lowered air conditioning use afterwards,”yet my June costs was Rs 17,000″, Imtiaz stated.Rajesh Warekar stated his regular monthly expense, generally around Rs 800, soared to 
Rs 9,910 after he rented his home. “But my occupant insists his use does not necessitate such a quantity,”he stated. Sanjeev Tripathi, who earlier paid around Rs 2,000 throughout summertimes, stated, “In June, my expense was Rs 9,860. MSEDCL needs to re-install the old meters.”
Opposition to wise meters has actually been integrating in Mumbai considering that BEST started installing them in south Mumbai in 2024. Throughout the current assembly session, minister of state for energy Meghna Sakore-Bordikar, reacting to inquiries over 11,000 + grievances from Pune, stated it was inaccurate to associate greater expenses to wise meters.Even customers with standard meters in Kalyan-Dombivli have actually reported high boosts this summer season.
Dombivli resident Lakhi Shaw stated his expense increased from Rs 2,000-2,500 to almost Rs 7,000, while Kalyan resident Ashok Pawar’s costs increased to Rs 6,000-8,000.Opposition to the rollout is ending up being extreme, with setup groups presumably attacked in some areas. Political celebrations, consisting of the judgment Shiv Sena in Kalyan-Dombivli, have actually staged presentations requiring the rollout be suspended till customer issues are dealt with.The concern intensified recently when a customer supposedly tried to set himself on fire at the MSEDCL workplace in Vasai. The personnel intervened in time. The customer informed TOI he got an expense of around Rs 14,000 after a wise meter was set up regardless of no modification in family intake.MSEDCL, nevertheless, stays firm that the spike is connected to the incredibly hot summer season, which caused higher usage of air-conditioners, coolers and fridges.
Authorities likewise stated numerous aging electromechanical meters had actually decreased with time and were under-recording usage.“Smart meters record electrical energy intake more properly, consisting of low levels of power use that older meters frequently stopped working to record. In a number of grievances examined by us, faulty internal circuitry and electrical energy leaks inside customers’ properties were adding to greater usage,” an MSEDCL authorities stated.Kalyan department chief engineer C R Mishra pointed out department information to support the energy’s stand. “Our analysis reveals that amongst 11.76 lakh customers who continue to utilize standard meters, electrical power usage in June increased by 28% compared to June 2025,” he stated.Amongst 5.53 lakh customers whose standard meters were changed with wise meters, usage increased by 22%. “Similarly, 3.43 lakh customers who currently had clever meters before June 2025 tape-recorded a 25% boost in electrical energy use this June,” Mishra stated.
He included that if clever meters were over-recording, just that classification would have revealed irregular boosts. The analysis likewise discovered numerous middle-class homes crossed the 300-unit month-to-month usage limit, pressing them into greater tariff pieces.While social activists blame privatisation for the push towards clever meters, MSEDCL states they offer transparent billing by taping real usage and enable users to keep track of per hour, day-to-day and regular monthly use. These meters can assist spot power theft, recognize faults rapidly and minimize transmission losses.< period data-ua-type ="1" onclick ="stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)"> (Additional reporting by Somit Sen)
