2 days ago
Consumers protest in front of MSEDCL office in Sambhajinagar against installation of smart meters
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A group of consumers, led by the local unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI-M), staged a protest on Wednesday against the ongoing installation of 'smart meters' by the
MSEDCL
.
Protesters said these new Time of Day (TOD) meters will inflict an additional financial burden on consumers.
"Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) has appointed people to install these so-called 'smart' meters without our consent. The meters do not show real-time consumption data to date as promised by the state power utility. We fear that it will inflate our monthly power bills in days to come," Prashant Beedkar, a consumer, told TOI.
Gathered in front of the office of the joint managing director of MSEDCL on Wednesday, protesters raised slogans against state govt and demanded a stay on the installation of smart meters.
Local CPI (M) leader Abhay Taksal, who led the protest, claimed a few large corporate houses in India have bagged the contract for smart meters.
He said, "There are several hidden terms and conditions associated with the installation of smart meters.
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MSEDCL is deliberately keeping consumers in the dark about these. The installation of smart meters is a larger conspiracy to privatise the power supply."
Taksal added that there is a strong possibility that the existing postpaid smart meters will become prepaid ones in days to come. "The private telecom service providers offered free internet initially and later gradually made data packages highly exorbitant in prices.
Such a tactic is bound to be repeated in the matter of power supply in Maharashtra," he alleged.
When contacted, MSEDCL authorities said false propaganda involving smart meters is being spread by certain elements. "We have not received complaints of hefty power bills from consumers who have received the smart meters. The existing postpaid nature of power bills will continue in the future too. The power tariffs are decided by the power regulator MERC, and therefore there is no scope for any arbitrary hike," the MSEDCL spokesperson for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar zone said.
