Protests against Madhya Gujarat Vij Corporation Limited (MGVCL) continued in Vadodara amid complaints of “overcharging” smart meters with some residents demanding that the old meters be reinstalled. Several women, working as domestic help, gathered to protest stating that their families did not own smartphones and were unable to track the consumption and balance of the smart meters.
Residents of VMC’s Ward number 2 in the Western zone of the city gathered at local offices of the electricity board stating they were unable to understand the working of the smart meters.
A protester at the Sama GEB office complained that despite a balance of Rs 2,254 reflecting on the smart meter mobile application, the power supply was disrupted and the officials directed him to recharge the balance.
The complaints of overcharging have refused to die down despite an MGVCL clarification that the smart meters function on the same principle of electrostatic magnetism as the previous meters.
“MGVCL should have installed the meters in batches instead of randomly changing meters of the lower income groups for whom recharging mobile phones with a balance of Rs 250 is also difficult. How do they expect these people to keep recharging the phones with thousands of rupees to keep the electricity supply uninterrupted? Most of them are illiterate and the consumption of smart meters is high, leading to messages of frequent recharging. MGVCL should first install meters at the homes of elected representatives and corporates,” said social worker Jitendra Solanki who was leading a protest.
Several citizen groups also submitted a memorandum to the District Collectorate seeking an immediate withdrawal of the smart meters. All Gujarat Electricity Users’ Association Convenor, Indrajeetsinh Grover, led a march to the Collector’s office and submitted a representation contending that the smart meters were a “burden” on common citizens.
“There are complaints of overcharging and frequent disconnections… We have sought an immediate withdrawal of these meters and re-installation of the old meters. The BJP government is giving subsidies to businesses and industries that have a profit of crores of rupees. They should end that and stop waiving off loans of the Adani group. Instead, they should transfer that benefit to the common citizens and continue to use the old meters,” Grover said.
At the same time, MGVCL has maintained there has been no increase in the tariff or additional units due to smart meters.
