Tuesday, Apr 06, 2004
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Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | New Delhi
By Lalit K. Jha
NEW DELHI, APRIL 5. Already into the third summer after the electricity distribution system in Delhi was handed over to private companies, there seems to be no end to the woes of Delhi residents who continue to reel under long hours of unscheduled power cuts. And despite having surplus power, Delhiites have been experiencing load shedding on a regular basis this summer. Forced to sweat it out during both day and night at a time when the summer according to the weatherman has arrived a bit early and the demand of electricity has not reached its peak, residents of the Capital still recollect the assurances and promises made to them by the BSES and Tata Power officials at a luxurious five-star hotel soon after they took over: "Give us one year and power cuts would be a thing of the past. It would soon be history." Top BSES and Tata Power officials, most of whom were flown in from Mumbai, had said the power cuts were because of the "fragile, worn-out and outdated" electricity distribution infrastructure they inherited from the DVB which was unable to bear the increase in demand of power supply, the inefficient and unprofessional staff of the DVB who rarely listened to the complaints of consumers and misbehaved with them and the shortage of electricity from the grid. The annual revenue requirement (ARR) submitted by the discoms to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) reveal that several hundred crores have been spent on improving the infrastructure and for bringing in professionalism into the organisation. More than 6,000 employees whom the discom officials privately termed as a "deadwood" for their organisation, have been shown the "exit gate" through the Voluntary Retirement Scheme. Further, the Delhi Government by spending more from its exchequer has purchased more power than what is required by the Capital this summer. Such an arrangement has been entered into by it knowing very well that it would have to pay a hefty penalty if the electricity purchased is not used under the Availability Based Tariff (ABT) regime. "Despite all this there has been no let up in power cuts which only indicates that the discoms in particular the BSES, have failed in their attempt to come up to the people's expectations so far," said a top power official from the Delhi Government. Probably this is the reason why the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, has set up an exclusive complaint centre at her residence to monitor power faults in the Capital during this summer. A glance at these figures reveals that the areas controlled by the BSES -- East Delhi, Walled City, and South Delhi -- have been the worst hit this year. "Power situation in North and North-West, which is controlled by NDPL, is comfortable and has improved a lot when we compare the situation with the rest of the Capital. But at times it is pathetic," said M.K. Mohanty, chairman of the resident welfare associations under the popular Bhagidari scheme of the Delhi Government based on the feedback he receives from the RWAs on the power front.
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