Discom to up power load after survey

NOIDA: To help consumers save on penalty charges, the power distribution company Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) asked them to apply for power load according to their consumption. It said that it will soon begin automatically increasing the sanctioned load in case the consumers fail to do so.

In a survey, the discom found that consumers often drew on more power than what is sanctioned. A domestic consumer may have got a sanction to draw 2MW, also called power load, but would have set points in their house to draw 4MW.

People, however, do not want to increase the sanctioned load as this would mean a higher fixed charge even if the consumption is lower, said officials.

Virendra Nath Singh, divisional chief engineer (Noida), PVVNL, said the survey between May and July revealed that many consumers did not apply to increase their power load.

“Now, if they do not apply for increasing the electricity load, the discom will automatically increase it and include the exceeding amount in their monthly bills. The discom staff will conduct a physical inspection to check the number of electronic appliances, with socket plugs kept open, to evaluate the connected power load,” said Singh.

An increase in power load will have no effect on the grid, said officials.

Amita Singh, a housewife from Noida Sector 76, said that the consumers are allotted power load on the basis of appliances or number of sockets they have in their houses. “It doesn’t matter whether the appliances are in use or not. This is not the right way to evaluate the maximum load for a consumer, especially if it is a domestic connection. I do not use all the appliances at a time... why do I have to increase my load? This way, discom staff trap innocent consumers who are not aware of these technicalities,” she said.