Mumbra is the first to take the hit whenever there is load shedding in Thane. That's because 80% of its tenements are illegal and do not pay bills, leading power distributor MSEDCL to cut power to the entire area, affecting even legitimate consumers.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited requires 19,500 mega watt (MW) daily for the state. Due to poor coal supply to power generation firms, MSEDCL receives 1600-1700 MW.
"Demand of power goes up due to October heat and we need 2,000-2,500 MW daily," said Vishwajit Bhosale, MSEDCL spokesperson.
The gap between demand and supply is leading to load shedding. "We classify areas into A, B, C, D, E, F and G categories. At present power cuts are in areas that fall in E,F and G, which include rural areas and places where bill payment by consumers is poor. And so is the bill recovery. Mumbra falls in that category," he said. "In G-1 category, bill recovery is 58-66%. And G2, G3 and G4 are areas where recovery is even lower."
But residents said they are being punished for others' fault. "If MSEDCL said there is only about 60% recovery in Mumbra, then why are they not charging the remaining 40%?" said Abdul Malik, whose kids have to sit for exams this month. "We pay more for electricity than Mumbai and Thane. Yet Mumbra is the first to face power cuts. This is unfair," he said.
POLLS HIT POWER
MSEDCL sources said five states headed to the polls have heaped on Mumbra’s woes. “Other than dearth of coal, which is needed to create power, poll-bound states are buying whatever electricity is available at a price demanded by providers.”
