Voltage Surcharge - A Cash Bomb Waiting to Implode in Maharashtra, India

I have presented a brief idea of an issue of an electric utility overcharging certain kinds of consumers that are supplied electricity at lower-than-specified voltage levels in the State of Maharashtra, India. The electric utility in question is the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL), licensed to distribute power in the State of Maharashtra. The MSEDCL has been levying a Voltage Surcharge of an additional 2% power units over and above the actual electricity consumption of certain kinds of consumers in Maharashtra since about 2009. The paper discusses the legality of the imposition of such a voltage surcharge, its applicability, judicial pronouncements on it as well as an analysis of legal solutions available to aggrieved consumers and legal/technical professionals alike on taking up the issue with the proper authorities.