Pune: Ganesh mandals in the city have urged authorities to provide flat or concessional electricity tariffs for temporary connections and expressed concerns over delayed refund of security deposits.In a recent meeting, mandal representatives said this would make billing more affordable. “In the current structure, we are paying the same rate as charged for residential connections. The rates increase as unit consumption increases, so we end up paying an average of Rs18-20 per unit at the end of the festival, which is very expensive,” said Mahesh Suryavanshi, the treasurer of Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Trust.Even medium-sized pandals use over 1,000 units of electricity during the festival. “Our electricity costs shot up to Rs63,000 last year. Until 2019, there was a flat rate applicable for Ganeshotsav. After the pandemic, we are charged as per unit consumption. The other issue is refund of security deposits. This takes a very long time,” said Santosh Nagarkar, Navagraha Mitra Mandal, Kasba Peth.According to MSEDCL, around 170 Ganpati mandals took temporary connections last year. Rates applicable for mandals fall under “temporary religious connection”. Charges range from Rs3.96 per unit for up to 100 unit consumption, and a charge of Rs17.68 per unit is applicable for consumption of over 500 units.Mandal representatives said they overpaid despite meter disconnection. “Even though the meter is taken away two to three days after the festival ends, billing is very slow and takes two to three months for it to be generated. We end up paying fixed charges for all the months till the bill is generated. It is unfair after surrendering the meter,” said Rajendra Kamble, meeting coordinator for mandals.Fixed charges are approximately Rs650 a month.“To resolve billing related concerns, we will introduce prepaid smart meters for temporary religious connections starting this Ganesh festival,” said Vikas Puri, a spokesperson of Pune MSEDCL.
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