People may get special Diwali gift against inflated electricity bills : Nitin Raut

Mumbai : Discussions are underway to alleviate the rising power bills due to excessive power consumption during the Corona period and a decision is likely to be taken by Diwali, said Energy Minister Dr. Nitin Raut told a press conference.

Energy Minister Dr. Raut visited the Tata Thermal Power Station in Trombay on Monday. He then spoke to reporters. Responding to a question from reporters, he said the employment of many was adversely affected during the Covid19 period. Also, having to stay at home increased electricity consumption, which led to higher electricity bills. Therefore, there is a demand for relief regarding these increased electricity bills. Discussions are underway in that regard.

During the lockdown, electricity distribution companies sent average bills to customers. Payments were then sent to customers on a three-month meter reading from June. This led to a large amount of payment to the customer. BEST, Tata Power and Adani Electricity deducted the average unit paid by customers, resulting in somewhat lower payments. However, the state government’s MSEDCL did not deduct the amount, which resulted in huge payments to customers. A file in this regard has been sent to the Finance Ministry and a concrete decision will be taken before Diwali, he added.

Dr. Raut said that Tata has been linked with Mumbai as a brand. He started many projects for power generation for Mumbai for the first time. The island system was commissioned by Tata Power in 1981 to prevent Mumbai from going dark. However, due to the power outage on October 12, more measures are needed. Considering the importance of Mumbai, the State Load Transmission Center (SLDC) at Kalwa is visiting Tata Power Company and Adani Power Company to learn more about the incident.

The Department of Energy has appointed a technical audit committee to find out the cause of the power outage and take measures. The Central Electricity Authority and the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) have also set up separate committees. The power transmission system as well as the island system for Mumbai needs to be improved and efforts will be made to complete the modernization measures next year, he said. Efforts are being made to ensure reliable and quality power supply to Mumbai.

Mumbai’s electricity demand is expected to reach around 5,000 MW by 2030. In view of this need, in order to provide uninterrupted power supply to Mumbai, consideration will be given to increase power generation, planning for it, what will be its production rate, etc. At present, two sets of the Tata power plant are closed and more power can be generated from them and the rate of power generation will be reasonable. Necessary measures will be proposed to the Electricity Regulatory Commission for the island system to be successful, the technology of island design has been changing from time to time. However, instructions have been given to bring the latest technology in it. Efforts will be made to make State Transmission Units (STUs) more efficient. Radical transmission is currently used to meet Mumbai’s electricity needs. Considering the possibility of problems if a high voltage power line malfunctions, the option of making a ring line in the future will also be considered, said Raut.