It is up to the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) to ensure that the 27-storey Antilla is lit up during Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal's wedding. Sources in BEST said that the Ambanis had approached the undertaking for temporary load up to 500 kilowatt (kW) or half a megawatt (Mw) for three days.
The three-day wedding will be attended by VVIP guests from around the world and the family wants to ensure a bright celebration. Interestingly, the demand is for nearly 100 times more electricity to the four to five kWs power used by consumers with air conditioners at home. The present demand of nearly 40 lakh power consumers in the city is 2700-2800 Mw.
"We were approached for providing an additional temporary load of up to 500 kW. We also laid a temporary line from a nearby substation," said a BEST official.
The BEST is expected to charge around Rs 9 per unit for providing temporary connection plus a fixed charge on the same. This will be as per the recent tariff schedule that has come into effect from September 1. The rates are that provided to halls where marriages and functions are held. They have also collected a fixed deposit of up to 10 kW.
The Ambanis will be using their own diesel generator sets for the same for continuous power supply. Apart from this, even the BEST will keep a spare digi-set. "When the billing is done, we will either subtract the deposit amount or refund the deposit and charge the bill for the temporary meter provided," said another BEST official.
The requisition letter was written to the Tardeo branch of BEST. Power experts claim that with this load, the entire building can be lit without disruption. Normally, during Ganesh festival, power distributors provide temporary metres to the mandals for which separate charges are levied. The power consumption is expected to run into thousands of units in these three days.
In this extravagant affair, people around the globe are expected to attend it. If reports are to be believed then US leaders like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry are in the guest list. When it comes to performances, the newly-wed Priyanka Chopra who is Isha Ambani's friend is likely to perform. AR Rahman and Arijit Singh are also expected to make an appearance. Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar are also expected to perform in the sangeet. Even international stars like Beyonce and Taylor Swift are also rumoured to be present in Udaipur.
