Mumbai | September 7, 2026
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking, or BEST, will seek more than one lakh new electricity customers in Mumbai through a Ganeshotsav contact campaign, as redevelopment projects and large housing complexes intensify competition between the city’s power suppliers.
BEST currently serves about 10.60 lakh electricity consumers, according to a report published by Loksatta – Mumbai. The undertaking plans to use the campaign to reach Ganesh mandals, housing societies, newly constructed buildings and commercial establishments that may require new electricity connections.
Two teams have been formed for the campaign. They will be divided between the northern and southern parts of the city, covering municipal wards across Mumbai. Their primary task will be to identify potential consumers and work on new electricity connections in areas where redevelopment and new construction are generating additional demand.
The campaign comes as private electricity suppliers expand their presence in Mumbai’s redevelopment market. Large residential complexes and newly built buildings are increasingly receiving connections from private companies, creating direct competition for BEST in areas that have traditionally formed part of its electricity supply base.
Tata Power’s electricity customer base in Mumbai has crossed eight lakh, with an increase of more than one lakh consumers over the past few years, according to the report. The company has also been developing infrastructure intended to serve consumers in densely built areas where space for conventional electrical facilities is limited.
One such facility is Tata Power’s first underground submersible substation, developed and commissioned in Parel. The 400-kVA substation continued operating during the monsoon even when it was completely submerged, the report said. Tata Power plans to build more than 100 underground substations in Mumbai over the next four years. The company expects the installations to help improve voltage stability in densely populated residential and commercial areas.
Infrastructure constraints have also affected the ability of electricity suppliers to serve new developments. The report said Tata Power supplied electricity to a large housing complex in Wadala after BEST faced difficulties in establishing the substation infrastructure required for the connection.
For BEST, the customer campaign is linked to the changing demand generated by new buildings and redevelopment projects. The undertaking’s chairperson, Trishna Vishwasrao, described BEST as an old and trusted institution while outlining the effort to retain its position in Mumbai’s electricity market.
The campaign’s next operational steps will involve visits by the two BEST teams to housing societies, new buildings, commercial establishments and Ganesh mandals during the festival period. The undertaking has set the addition of more than one lakh consumers as the objective of the drive.
