CM stresses on extensive power sector reforms
Yogi tells officials to ensure power supply to all 75 districts as per roster, with no additional load shedding, asks UPPCL to bring OTS
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has emphasised the need for effecting extensive reforms in the power sector, according to a state government spokesman. He directed officials to prepare an action plan keeping the future requirement of electricity in mind. While taking a serious note of the prevailing electricity crisis in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath asked the energy department to ensure power supply to all the 75 districts as per the roster with no additional load shedding anywhere. He was holding a meeting to review the power position here .
The Centre was extending all possible support to the state to help it tide over the crisis, he said. The chief minister asked officials to make necessary arrangements, including transporting coal to thermal plants by road as well to increase the availability of generation.
The CM further asked officials to encourage consumers to pay their bills regularly by sending correct bills to them every month. Over-billing, false billing and delayed billing always discouraged consumers apart from creating a trust deficit, he said.“The UPPCL should make a solid action plan to remove billing deficiencies and improving billing collection with special focus on rural areas,” he said.
Expressing concern over the mounting arrears, the chief minister asked the UPPCL to bring a one-time settlement scheme (OTS) for defaulters to clear their dues. Welcoming CM’s direction for the OTS, UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avdhesh Kumar Verma said, “We demand the CM to direct the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) to lower the power tariff in the public interest, more so when it is proved that the UPPCL has overcharged consumers to the tune of around ₹20,000 crore during last one decade,” Verma said.
LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) has claimed it supplied electricity to all rural, semi-urban and urban areas as per the roster without resorting to any extra load shedding after it made arrangements for 2,000 MW additional power.
The power availability further improved after the UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam’s 660 MW Harduaganj thermal unit resumed production on Monday.
The unit had been closed for the last several days due to a boiler tube leakage.
The corporation started buying around 1600 MW power from other sources from Sunday.
“Rural areas were provided power for 18.19 hours, Bundelkhand 21 hours, nagar panchayats 22 hours, tehsil headquarters 21.54 hours and district headquarters and bigger cities 24 hours,” a UPPCL spokesman said.
Holding a meeting here, principal secretary (energy) and UPPCL chairman M Devraj
said it was very essential that state’s power plants made optimum generation. He asked officials to take all precautionary measures to ensure that no power production unit was closed for technical glitches in view of the crisis.
He also asked officials to ensure smooth power supply to people on the occasion of festivals while trying to avoid unnecessary and prolonged shutdowns.
Focus on preventive maintenance: minister
Later, energy minister AK Sharma also held a meeting with the officials in the Shakti Bhawan to monitor the situation.
He asked officials to focus on preventive maintenance to avoid local faults that, he said, aggravated the crisis. He directed officials to make an action plan to reduce line losses to save energy. Sharma also reiterated the chief minister’s directives to the officials.