No AC, ₹14,000 Salary, ₹17,000 Power Bill: Faces of Distress Emerge at MSEDCL Camps Nagpur: The queue outside the MSEDCL grievance and smart meter awareness camp on Wednesday was filled with consumers carrying more than electricity bills. Many arrived burdened by mounting dues, financial stress, and hopes of finding answers to soaring power charges. Among them was Varsha Patil of Jogi Nagar, who earns ₹14,000 a month but received an electricity bill of ₹17,000. Patil said her household does not use an air-conditioner and yet consumption jumped from around 311 units in May last year to 915 units this May. “My monthly bill earlier ranged between ₹2,500 and ₹3,000. After receiving unusually high bills, I visited the MSEDCL office and was allowed to pay an instalment of ₹7,000. But my June bill was again ₹7,000, taking my arrears to ₹17,000,” she said. Similar concerns were raised by several consumers who queued up at the camp hoping for a resolution. Many said they were unable to understand the sharp rise in consumption reflected in their bills and questioned how families could afford the increased charges. Sushma Lakshane of Pratap Nagar said her electricity bill surged from ₹8,000 to ₹19,000 in a single billing cycle. “A middle-class family cannot afford to pay such high bills,” she said. Imran Sheikh, a Dighori resident, added, “I had a smart meter installed around six to eight months ago. For the first four months, everything was normal, but after that my electricity bills started rising sharply. Earlier, my monthly bill was around ₹600-700, now it has gone up to nearly ₹2,400.” Consumers said they had expected answers or relief at the camp, but many left feeling their concerns remained unresolved. Bhuvan Kaikade, a consumer at Shubhan Nagar substation camp, shared his frustration.#m_sedcl #varsha_patil #sushma_lakshane #imran_sheikh #bhuvan_kaikade
Power Outages Plague South Nagpur Amid Record Heatwave Residents of South Nagpur faced prolonged power outages for six hours on Saturday as temperatures soared to 44.2°C, exacerbating the challenges of an intense heatwave. The city’s south-west and south areas experienced frequent tripping and multiple short-duration power cuts, leaving households without electricity during peak afternoon hours. In Balaji Nagar, a section of South Nagpur, the outage lasted from around 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., forcing residents to endure stifling indoor conditions without fans or coolers. Vishu Misal, a resident of Manewada in South Nagpur, described the disruption as a major inconvenience. “On Saturday, the prolonged power cut disrupted our entire routine. My family and I couldn’t even carry out basic household chores like filling the water tank, as there was no electricity for hours,” he said. Another resident, Babulal Meshram, accused MSEDCL, the state electricity distribution company, of unannounced load shedding, noting that cuts occurred even late at night and during the day, making the extreme heat unbearable. MSEDCL officials attributed the outage in Balaji Nagar to ongoing infrastructure work, specifically the installation of an aerial bunched (AB) cable. They stated that the scheduled shutdown was necessary to address persistent low-voltage issues in the area during nighttime hours. However, residents argued that such maintenance should not result in extended power cuts during extreme weather conditions. “Consumers were informed in advance, and around 125 households were affected,” an official said, emphasizing that the cable laying was essential for improving reliability. The power crisis coincided with peak electricity demand, as soaring temperatures drove up the use of air conditioners, coolers, and other appliances.#balaji_nagar #civil_lines #manewada #south_nagpur #m_sedcl
