Kalyan: Nationwide protests against smart electricity meters have reached the Kalyan-Dombivli belt, with many consumers alleging their monthly bills have increased three to five times despite no major change in household power consumption.While residents want an independent technical audit of the newly installed meters, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) maintains the higher bills are due to increased summer consumption and the more accurate recording of smart meters.Residents of Runwal Gardens, Dombivli, claim their monthly bills have, on average, risen from Rs 2,000-2,500 to Rs 8,000-10,000. Ahmed Salman Imtiaz’s bill jumped from Rs 3,000 in Feb to Rs 14,000 in Apr. “We installed an AC in Apr, so we had expected a higher bill, but this was steep,” he said. The family consciously reduced AC usage thereafter, “yet my June bill was Rs 17,000”, Imtiaz said.Rajesh Warekar said his monthly bill, usually around Rs 800, shot up to Rs 9,910 after he rented out his house. “But my tenant insists his usage doesn’t warrant such an amount,” he said. Sanjeev Tripathi, who earlier paid around Rs 2,000 during summers, said, “In June, my bill was Rs 9,860. MSEDCL should reinstall the old meters.”Opposition to smart meters has been building in Mumbai since BEST began installing them in south Mumbai in 2024. During the recent assembly session, minister of state for energy Meghna Sakore-Bordikar, responding to queries over 11,000+ complaints from Pune, said it was incorrect to attribute higher bills to smart meters.However, even consumers with conventional meters in Kalyan-Dombivli have reported steep increases this summer. Dombivli resident Lakhi Shaw said his bill rose from Rs 2,000-2,500 to nearly Rs 7,000, while Kalyan resident Ashok Pawar’s bill rose to Rs 6,000-8,000.Opposition to the rollout is becoming intense, with installation teams allegedly assaulted in some localities. Political parties, including the ruling Shiv Sena in Kalyan-Dombivli, have staged demonstrations demanding the rollout be suspended until consumer concerns are addressed.The issue escalated last week when a consumer allegedly attempted to set himself on fire at the MSEDCL office in Vasai. The staff intervened in time. The consumer told TOI he received a bill of around Rs 14,000 after a smart meter was installed despite no change in household consumption.MSEDCL, however, remains firm that the spike is linked to the exceptionally hot summer, which led to greater use of air-conditioners, coolers and refrigerators. Officials also said many ageing electromechanical meters had slowed down over time and were under-recording consumption.“Smart meters record electricity consumption more accurately, including low levels of power usage that older meters often failed to capture. In several complaints investigated by us, defective internal wiring and electricity leakages inside consumers’ premises were contributing to higher consumption,” an MSEDCL official said.Kalyan division chief engineer C R Mishra cited departmental data to support the utility’s stand. “Our analysis shows that among 11.76 lakh consumers who continue to use conventional meters, electricity consumption in June increased by 28% compared with June 2025,” he said.Among 5.53 lakh consumers whose conventional meters were replaced with smart meters, consumption rose by 22%. “Similarly, 3.43 lakh consumers who already had smart meters before June 2025 recorded a 25% increase in electricity usage this June,” Mishra said. He added that if smart meters were over-recording, only that category would have shown abnormal increases. The analysis also found many middle-class households crossed the 300-unit monthly consumption threshold, pushing them into higher tariff slabs.While social activists blame privatisation for the push towards smart meters, MSEDCL says they provide transparent billing by recording actual consumption and allow users to monitor hourly, daily and monthly usage. These meters can help detect power theft, identify faults quickly and reduce transmission losses.(Additional reporting by Somit Sen)
