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  CM Arvind Kejriwal mulls ‘compensation’ to people for long power cuts

CM Arvind Kejriwal mulls ‘compensation’ to people for long power cuts

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : May 22, 2016, 1:21 am IST
Updated : May 22, 2016, 1:21 am IST

Amid massive power outages faced by residents for a second consecutive day, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday assured his government was personally attending to every complaint they received,

Amid massive power outages faced by residents for a second consecutive day, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday assured his government was personally attending to every complaint they received, adding that a policy will also be enforced where “compensation” will be provided to people suffering from power cuts for more than two hours.

“In Delhi there have been many power cuts lately, and for the past two days I have been observing the situation. In the BSES areas the power cuts are more than usual and in Tata areas there are few power cuts in comparison. Yesterday, the power ministers took cognisance of the matter and we are personally observing all the complaints that are coming through,” Mr Kejriwal said.

Stating that he has called a meeting regarding the matter on Monday, he added that he has given a policy direction to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) stating that when there is an “unscheduled” power cut, then it has to be fixed within two hours. If this is not done, then the people in that area will be compensated.

Delhi power minister Satyendar Jain said the government has directed DERC to impose a penalty on discoms for the rampant power cuts. He said the penalty clause for the power cuts will be notified soon. Areas like Okhla, Lodhi Colony, Bhogal, Nizamuddin, Jangpura Extension, Masjid Moth, Malviya Nagar, Kalkaji and parts of Lajpat Nagar and South Extension faced power cuts in the range of two to five hours, making life difficult for residents in the blistering heat.

BSES officials blamed Delhi Transco Ltd, the Delhi government-run entity that maintains the transmission network in the city, for the long outages, saying technical problems in the network caused the power cuts. “There was no power in my area for five hours. We have made complaints to the concerned authorities but there was no response,” an Okhla resident said. Delhi Transco officials, meanwhile, said there was a technical glitch in its distribution network supplying power to South Delhi but, at the same time, added that BSES could have used the alternate network if it had made such arrangements.

Officials from the Delhi government’s power department said the discoms have not been investing in improving infrastructure, due to which power cuts are taking place across the city when the load on the network goes up due to higher consumption.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi