Former MSEDCL engineer challenges proposed electricity tariff hike

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A former engineer of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has challenged the proposed electricity tariff hike in Maharashtra through a petition submitted to the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court.

Ajit Deshpande, the petitioner, has claimed that the proposed hike would make the electricity tariff for domestic consumers in the state even higher than that of neighboring states. He has also alleged that industries are moving away from Maharashtra due to high electricity tariffs.

Furthermore, Deshpande has requested an inquiry through a committee of retired judges of the High Court regarding the MSEDCL cheating the government, farmers, and common consumers by increasing the horsepower load of agricultural pumps without informing the farmers. The preliminary hearing on the petition is scheduled for April 10.

The petition has been filed through Adv Girish Naik-Thigle, and respondents include the principal secretary of the power department, the chairman of MSEDCL, the secretary of the Electricity Regulatory Commission, the director of MSEDCL (commercial), and the chairman and managing director of the company.

According to the petition, only 17 percent of the 44 lakh agricultural pump owners have meters, while MSEDCL has claimed that 65 percent of farmers have metres. The petitioner alleges that without informing farmers, MSEDCL has misrepresented the horsepower load of the pumps, leading to an almost doubling of the subsidy given by the government. The consumption of electricity by farmers is also claimed to have been overstated.