By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 24: Residents of the poor dwelling units in Lumphira, Nongmensong, have raised concerns over a sharp increase in their electricity bills following the introduction of smart meters by the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL).
The MeECL recently installed a total of 290 smart meters across 18 multi-storied dwelling units in the area.
However, the installation process has been criticised for being haphazard, posing significant safety risks to the residents.
According to the residents, MeECL replaced the pre-paid meters with smart meters in January this year without consulting them.
Initially, they were informed via a mobile app that the electricity cost per unit would be Rs 5. This led to initial optimism about the new system.
“We were happy with the introduction of smart meters at first,” a resident said. “But we soon noticed our monthly electricity bills skyrocketing to Rs 5,000–6,000. Under the pre-paid meter system, the bills were much lower, and the calculations were transparent.”
Some residents even expressed that they would prefer to live without electricity rather than face these unaffordable bills.
The residents reported their grievances to the MeECL office near the Main Secretariat, alleging that the smart meters were not functioning properly. However, they claim the MeECL staff dismissed their concerns, insisting that there were no issues with the app or the system.
“We don’t pay rent, but even then, these electricity bills are beyond our financial capacity,” another resident stated. “We feel exploited by the MeECL.”