This time there has been a rise in the number of electric meters applied by the Ganesh mandals across the city. There are 4,000 applications received in city and suburbs. The famous Lalbaugcha Raja itself has asked for 250 electric meters. The power distributors are expecting more mandals to come forward.
The demand for electric meters during Ganesh festival goes up and this year, the power distributors expect 7-10 per cent growth in the number of applicants. This is namely because the electricity tariff for supplying to these Ganesh mandals is dropping each year.
"On an average, we get demand for 1200-1300 temporary connections of e-meters during Ganesh. This time we expect it to be around 1500 connections," said a BEST official. They supply to the island city between Colaba to Sion/Mahim.
Of these, around 250-meter connections are for Lalbaugcha Raja itself. These are not just for the main mandal where Ganpati idol is kept, but also part of Dr B Ambedkar road and other bylanes around this mandal where people queue up. These are installed as heavy halogen lamps are installed all through the festival and even before that.
In the suburbs, the Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML) expects around 2500 temporary connections supplied to the Ganesh pandals. A spokesperson from AEML said, "We appeal to all the Ganesh mandals to undertake wiring from authorised licensed electrical contractor to ensure the safety of devotees visiting the Pandals."
Last year they had received a demand from around 1500 mandals for temporary connections. They are also providing additional power at 60 immersion points throughout the suburbs apart from providing standby diesel generator sets. The distribution company expects more mandals to come forward.
Meanwhile, the tariff for these temporary connections is on a rising trend. In 2018-19, the BEST is charging Rs 5.05 per unit which stood at Rs 5.14 per unit last year. Similarly, AEML is charging Rs 7.16 per unit this year which stood at Rs 7.24 per unit.
