Mumbai Electricity Bills Double As Heatwave Takes A Toll
Higher AC usage, running for 3–4 hours in the day and again at night, are among the reasons attributed to the hike in bills.
The 2024 summer hasn't been a normal one for the Indian financial capital. Strong heatwave conditions, with temperatures rising to 43 degrees in areas like Dombivli, have significantly increased power consumption in Mumbai, almost doubling electricity bills for consumers across the city and its suburbs.
Several consumers of Mumbai's four electricity distribution companies—Tata Power Co., BEST, Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd., and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co.—saw their bills rise between 50% and 80%, with bills even doubling for some compared to the previous month's bill.
According to power distribution company officials, higher usage of air conditioners, running them for 3–4 hours during the day and again at night was the biggest culprit. Summer vacations and people preferring to stay indoors added to the overall bills, as said by people NDTV Profit spoke with.
Besides, higher consumption led to a change in tariff slabs, which many consumers were unaware of. Distribution companies ran awareness campaigns across their respective areas, sensitising customers about their consumption patterns and how to control excessive consumption.
For consumers traditionally having high consumption of electricity, predictive analytics was used to ascertain their usage and ran message and email campaigns to sensitise them about expected slab changes and how they can curtail usage, an Adani Electricity official said on condition of anonymity.
This campaign helped reduce complaints regarding the hike in bills, cutting complaints by 15–20%, the official said.
Mumbai Electricity Tariffs At A Glance
The electricity tariffs in Mumbai are divided into slabs of units: 1-100, 101-300, 301-500, 501-1,000, and more than 1,000 units. Tariffs increase with each slab.
For state-run distribution company MSEDCL, the tariff for up to 100 units is Rs 4.41, for 101-300 units it is Rs 9.64, for 301-500 units the tariff is Rs 13.61, and for 501-1,000 units and beyond it is Rs 15.67. MSEDCL is among the costliest distribution companies in the Mumbai and suburban region, according to the details shared on the electricity bills.
The increase in tariff from April 1 for FY25 and the fuel adjustment charges also contributed to the overall increase, said an official from Tata Power. However, he noted the biggest factor was higher consumption leading to slab changes. The overall hike in tariffs was around 10–11%, which is not high enough to significantly impact bills on its own.
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