Every year, the same thing happens in Kolkata. Durga Puja ends, the pandals begin to disappear, the streets return to their usual appearance, and life slowly gets back to normal. However, one thing often refuses to return to normal: the electricity bill.
For many households across Kolkata and surrounding areas, October brings an unexpected financial headache. After spending generously on new clothes, food, pandal hopping and celebrations, families open their electricity bills only to find another expense waiting for them. The amount sometimes seems unusually high, even when household electricity consumption does not appear to have changed significantly.
This raises an interesting question: Why does the electricity bill increase after Durga Puja? Is it simply the result of higher household consumption, or are the massive pandal and street-lighting expenses somehow finding their way into residential electricity bills?
It is a question worth investigating, particularly in a city where Durga Puja celebrations involve thousands of illuminated pandals, decorative installations and beautifully lit neighbourhood streets.
The Durga Puja Electricity Consumption Mystery
Before assuming that the electricity department has added someone else’s expenses to a household bill, it is worth understanding how much electricity Durga Puja actually consumes.
The scale of electricity consumption during Bengal’s biggest festival is enormous. Every year, thousands of community pujas arrange temporary electricity connections to illuminate their pandals, decorative installations and surrounding areas.
According to a report published by The Telegraph in August 2025, the number of Durga Puja pandals applying for temporary electricity connections through WBSEDCL increased from 20,970 in 2011 to 50,550 in 2024. The total declared load increased from 210 MW to 1,348 MW during the same period.
These figures demonstrate how much electricity the festival infrastructure requires. However, they do not establish that residential consumers pay for this additional consumption.
In fact, both major electricity suppliers have arrangements for temporary Puja connections.
- CESC: The company provides a dedicated application process for temporary electricity supply during Durga Puja and other festivals.
- WBSEDCL: Its guidelines require Puja organisers to apply for temporary supply, declare their power requirements and follow the applicable festival electricity tariff. The temporary connection has a defined duration.
This is an important distinction. Pandal organisers are expected to arrange electricity through designated connections rather than depend on the domestic meters of nearby residents.
Therefore, the electricity consumed by a properly connected Puja pandal should not automatically appear on an unrelated household’s individual electricity bill.
But if that is the case, why do so many households experience a post-Puja electricity bill shock?
Are Pandal and Street Lighting Expenses Secretly Added to Household Bills?
This is perhaps the biggest question behind the annual post-Pujo electricity bill mystery.
Imagine living in a residential neighbourhood where a local club organises a large Durga Puja. The entire street remains illuminated throughout the festival. Decorative lights cover buildings, temporary structures and roadside installations. Hundreds of tuni bulbs create a festive atmosphere, while additional lighting remains switched on for several hours every evening.
Once Dashami passes, the decorations disappear. A few days later, the electricity bill arrives, showing a noticeably higher amount.
It is understandable why residents might connect the two events.
However, there is no established basis for claiming that CESC or WBSEDCL routinely distributes the electricity expenses of community pandals among nearby domestic consumers. The temporary connection arrangements indicate that pandal consumption is separately accounted for.
Street lighting requires a slightly different explanation. Public streetlights and municipal lighting infrastructure do not ordinarily form part of an individual household’s domestic meter consumption. Their electricity expenses are handled through the relevant public or municipal arrangements.
However, residential housing societies present a different possibility.
Many apartment complexes and gated communities operate common electricity meters for lifts, staircases, corridor lights, security cabins, pumps, parking areas and other shared facilities.
If a housing society uses its common electricity supply to power additional decorative lighting during Durga Puja, that consumption could increase the common electricity bill. Depending on the society’s accounting system, residents might eventually bear a share through monthly maintenance charges or common-area electricity contributions.
That is not the same as CESC or WBSEDCL secretly adding pandal expenses to individual household bills.
The distinction matters, especially when residents want to question an unexpected increase in their post-Puja expenses.
The Hidden Electricity Consumption of ‘Tuni Bulbs’ (Rice/fairy lights)
One thing that makes Kolkata’s Durga Puja special is its lighting. From neighbourhood pandals to residential balconies, tuni bulbs and decorative LED strings are everywhere.
Although individual decorative bulbs consume relatively little electricity, their combined consumption can become significant when hundreds or thousands of bulbs remain switched on for several hours.
Consider a simple example:
| Decorative lighting | Estimated consumption |
| 100 traditional 5W bulbs | 500 watts |
| Operating time | 8 hours |
| Daily consumption | 4 units |
| Consumption over 5 days | 20 units |
This example assumes that all 100 bulbs operate continuously for eight hours every day.
Large installations can consume considerably more electricity, particularly when they combine decorative bulbs, floodlights, illuminated signboards and other electrical equipment.
LED decorations generally consume less electricity than conventional incandescent bulbs, but the total consumption still depends on the number of lights, their wattage and operating hours.
The important question is not whether these lights consume electricity. They certainly do. The question is which electricity meter records that consumption and who ultimately pays for it.
Why Does the Household Electricity Bill Increase After Durga Puja?
There are several possible explanations for a higher Kolkata electricity bill in October. Some have nothing to do with the festival itself.
1. The electricity billing cycle might create confusion
Electricity bills do not necessarily cover the same dates as the Durga Puja celebrations.
For example, a bill generated after Dashami might include electricity consumed during the preceding weeks. Therefore, a higher October bill does not automatically mean that the additional consumption happened during the festival.
Checking the previous and current meter readings can help establish when the consumption actually increased.
2. Household consumption might have increased
Durga Puja brings guests, family gatherings and extended celebrations. Fans, refrigerators, lights, televisions and other appliances might operate for longer hours than usual.
Even after the celebrations end, household routines can take some time to return to normal.
3. Electricity consumption might change with the weather
Kolkata’s October weather can fluctuate. Humid evenings and warmer days can encourage households to continue using air conditioners and fans.
Air conditioners, in particular, can contribute substantially to household electricity consumption. A small change in daily operating hours can make a noticeable difference over an entire billing cycle.
4. The bill amount might change even when consumption does not increase significantly
Consumers should examine the billing components rather than compare only the final payable amount.
Depending on the applicable tariff and billing arrangement, the total can include energy charges, fixed charges, applicable adjustments, taxes and other approved components.
A higher bill amount does not always indicate that the household has consumed substantially more electricity.
How Can Kolkata Residents Check Whether They Are Paying For Someone Else’s Lighting?
Instead of relying entirely on speculation, residents can take a few practical steps to investigate a sudden increase in electricity bills.
- Compare electricity units: Check the previous and current bills to identify the actual consumption in kWh. Compare similar billing periods rather than relying only on the payable amount.
- Check meter readings: Verify whether the recorded meter readings match the readings displayed on the physical meter.
- Ask the housing society: If the apartment complex organised decorative lighting, ask the management committee whether it used the common electricity connection or a separate temporary connection.
- Request common-area billing details: Residents can ask for the electricity bill and the method used to divide common-area expenses among flats.
- Report unexplained increases: If the meter reading appears incorrect or consumption seems unusually high, contact the respective electricity provider and request a meter or billing investigation.
CESC consumers can approach the company through its customer service channels. WBSEDCL consumers can use its official grievance and customer support facilities.
Residents should retain previous bills and meter-reading records when raising a complaint.
CESC and WBSEDCL: Who Should Residents Approach?
Kolkata has two major electricity distribution arrangements that residents should distinguish.
| Electricity provider | General service area |
| CESC | Kolkata and several adjoining areas |
| WBSEDCL | Large parts of West Bengal, including Salt Lake and New Town |
For electricity-related complaints, residents should approach the provider responsible for their connection.
CESC consumers can contact its electricity helpline at 1912. WBSEDCL consumers can contact its helpline at 19121. These numbers are also listed in the state’s Puja electricity preparedness information.
Telegraph India
So, Are We Secretly Paying for Durga Puja Pandal Lighting?
The short answer is: There is no evidence that electricity providers routinely add community pandal lighting expenses to individual household bills.
CESC and WBSEDCL have temporary electricity connection arrangements for Puja organisers. Public street lighting also operates through separate municipal or public electricity arrangements.
However, the possibility of residents indirectly sharing additional electricity expenses through a housing society’s common meter deserves attention. If a residential complex uses its common connection for decorative lighting, the additional consumption could become part of its shared electricity expenses.
This is where transparency becomes important. Housing societies should maintain clear records of common electricity consumption and explain any unusual increase in maintenance charges.
Ultimately, a higher post-Pujo electricity bill deserves investigation rather than immediate accusations against electricity providers or Puja organisers.
Kolkata residents already spend considerably during the festive season. From new clothes and restaurant visits to pandal hopping and family celebrations, the expenses add up quickly. An unexpected electricity bill only makes the post-Pujo financial recovery more difficult.
Perhaps it is time for households and housing societies to pay closer attention to their electricity consumption, meter readings and shared electricity expenses.
After all, Maa Durga might leave after Dashami, but the electricity bill certainly stays!