Hindi film stars in shock over inflated electricity bills

It's not just the common man, but even Hindi film celebrities are in a state of shock at the inflated electricity bills they have received for the lockdown period. Many such celebrities took to social media to complain about the insane hike by their electricity provider. 

On Sunday, Tapasee Pannu tweeted a picture of the Rs36,000 bill she received from Adani Electricity for the month of June. She also shared a photo of a bill for the months of April and May, which ranged between Rs3,000-4,000.  In her tweet, she wrote "3 months of lockdown and I wonder what appliance(s) I have newly used or bought in the apartment only last month to have such an insane rise in my electricity bill. @Adani_Elec_Mum what kind of POWER r u charging us for?

In a subsequent tweet, Pannu shared a photo of the bill for another apartment that is currently unoccupied. The actress received a bill of Rs8,640 for that unoccupied apartment. Taking a dig at Adani Electricity, the actress thanked the electricity provider for uncovering whether someone lives in the apartment without her knowledge.

Veteran actress Renuka Shahane also complained about her electricity bill.  

Actress Huma Qureshi was also in shock at receiving a bill of Rs50,000 bill for June. The actress had been billed Rs6,000 last month. "What are these new electricity rates? @Adani_Elec_Mum Last month I paid 6k .. and this month 50K?! What is this new price surge? Kindly enlighten us." she wrote.

Stand-up comedian and actor Vir Das was one of the first celebrities to point out the insane rise in electricity bills. On 27 June he tweeted, "Anyone else in Mumbai gets an electricity bill that is triple what they usually pay?"

Actress Amayra Dastur, who is been living with her parents in Colaba for the past three months, was shocked to see the bill for her unoccupied Breach Candy apartment. The actress claims she was charged double of what she usually pays while actually living there.

Many other film personalities like  Pulkit Samrat, Neha Dhupia and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub also vented their frustration at the rising electricity bills on social media. 

In response to these complaints by Mumbaikars and film personalities, the state government has asked all electricity providers not to cut any connections until the dispute is resolved. The CMO today directed all electricity providers to show transparency in billing. Taking stock of the rising number of consumer complaints related to exorbitant electricity bills, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has directed power companies to show transparency in its billing procedures and redress the consumer complaints immediately.