'What are these...?': Huma Qureshi receives Rs 50,000 power bill, Arshad Warsi reacts

After Taapsee Pannu, Renuka Shahane, actor Huma Qureshi and director Bijoy Nambiar are among several people from Bollywood to express concerns over the unexpected rise in their electricity bills during the lockdown. Qureshi said she was puzzled that her bill jumped to Rs 50,000 when it was Rs 6,000 last month. 

"What are these new electricity rates? @Adani_Elec_Mum Last month I paid 6k .. and this month 50K?!  What is this new price surge? Kindly enlighten us," Huma wrote. Reacting to Huma's tweet, actor Arshad Warsi said, "This is averaging the bill amount which is highway robbery. Considering the situation we should be paying the exact bill amount that we paid last year during the same months." [sic]

Nambiar said he was frustrated with the inflated bill which he received for the current month. "I am just joining the bandwagon to vent my frustration against @Adani_Elec_Mum. Without a single new appliance being bought & barely using air conditioning  - my bill for this month has tripled!" the "David" director tweeted. 

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Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan said it's "ridiculous" that despite so many complaints, Adani Electricity hadn't issued even a "correction." "So many people talking about the absolutely ridiculous electricity bill inflation by @Adani_Elec_Mum! And yet no correction or apology! Meter reading can't be an excuse for this broad daylight robbery at a time when most people don't have sources of income! Horrible," the "Masaan" director wrote.

Power Company's explanation

When contacted, a spokesperson from AEML said the team has re-started physical meter reading which was halted in March because of COVID-19. "Bills were generated on lower side being an average of preceding three months, that is December, January and February, which are winter months. Actual consumption in the months of April, May and June is comparatively higher due to seasonal impact (summer) and increased usage (advent of Lockdown/WfH)," the statement read. 

AEML said the consumers will now start receiving bills based on their  consumption with "appropriate tariff slab benefits." "The bill amount for the past period shall be accounted as per Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) guidelines," the statement added.

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(with PTI inputs)