HPSEBL says ‘bills’ included old dues after Kangana Ranaut’s Rs 1 lakh power bill claim

The board clarified that the Mandi MP was also availing of the electricity subsidy provided by the Himachal Pradesh government. “On the electricity bill for February 2025, Ms Kangana Ranaut received a Rs 700 subsidy,” the statement reads. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, meanwhile, termed Ranaut’s claim “non-serious”. “I don’t take her comments seriously,” the CM told the media in Ahmedabad on the sidelines of the Congress National Executive Meeting. In a recent public address, Kangana claimed that she received a Rs 1 lakh electricity bill despite she did not live in her Manali house.

Responding to Ranaut, the HPSEB stated, “The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited clarifies the news related to the electricity bill of Mandi MP Ms Kangana Ranaut’s residence in Manali, as reported in print and electronic media. Under the Manali Electricity Sub-Division, the domestic electricity connection is registered in the name of Ms Kangana Ranaut at her residence in Simsa village.”

“The electricity bill of Rs 90,384 issued on March 22, 2025, is for two months of electricity consumption and includes a previous payment of Rs 32,287. Therefore, the claim that the bill is for a single month is entirely misleading,” the statement reads.

Notably, Kangana paid the electricity bills for October, November and December 2024, amounting Rs 82,061, on January 16, 2025, the electricity board said.

The HPSEB stated, “Kangana Ranaut consistently delays her monthly payments. The January and February bills, totalling 14,000 units of consumption, were only cleared on March 28, 2025. This again underscores her high electricity usage and late payments. Moreover, she continues to benefit from the state’s subsidy scheme and received Rs 700 as subsidy in her February 2025 bill.”

Chief Minister’s Media Adviser Naresh Chauhan also criticised the BJP MP, accusing her of “spreading misinformation and making baseless allegations”.

BJP state media in-charge Karan Nanda alleged that the HPSEB was working under political pressure.

“MP Kangana Ranaut’s statement is being misinterpreted. The electricity bill claimed by the electricity board is considered high in rural Himachal Pradesh. The electricity department should not work under political pressure. Ranaut merely wants to highlight the burden of common people in the state through her electricity bill.”