CMO seeks report on poor power supply

The chief minister’s office has sought a report on the growing complaints of poor power supply and delay in replacement of damaged transformers in urban and rural areas.

Principal secretary, energy, Alok Kumar has been asked to make a detailed report available to the CMO on a pro forma attached with the letter by Wednesday 4 pm.

Treating the matter as very, very important (as marked on the letter), Kumar has passed the instructions down to the concerning officers in the UPPCL asking them to send him inputs on the issues raised by the CM office.

In a letter (HT has a copy of it) shot off to Kumar on August 25, chief minister’s officer on special duty (OSD) Ajay Kumar Singh has said that it has been brought to the notice of the chief minister’s office from time to time that the district and the tehsil headquarters as well rural areas are not getting electricity supply as per the schedule fixed by the government.

“Besides, the chief minister has also been getting complaints from different sources about the damaged transformers not being changed in cities and villages within the stipulated times frame,” the letter further says.

The CM, the letter says, has expected principal secretary, who is also UPPCL chairman, to make available to him (CM) the statistics on electricity supplied to district headquarters, tehsil headquarters and rural areas during the last one month.

“Similarly, also provide information on the number of damaged transformers replaced during the last one month along with their capacity and place,” the letter says.Sources said many ruling party MLAs, MPs and ministers were regularly complaining about bad power situation in their constituencies.

According to sources, the CM had received maximum complaints from Poorvanchal where the lack of transformers has caused widespread crisis, especially in rural areas. The CM office’s letter has come at a time when the UPPCL has proposed a hefty tariff hike, especially for the rural domestic consumers and farmers on the ground of it providing them more electricity this year compared to the previous year. “Now, when the CM office has admitted to people not getting power supply as per the schedule, the UPPCL should immediately withdraw its proposal,” UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad president Awadhesh Kumar Verma demanded.