SRINAGAR: In order to provide relief to genuine consumers, the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has announced an escalation in its night patrolling and inspection drives to tighten the noose against erring consumers engaged in widespread hooking, violation of agreed loads, and bypassing of meters.
According to a handout, KPDCL revealed that it collected a revenue of Rs.29.89 crore from consumers over the last four days amid scaled-up drives to check energy pilferage. This pilferage primarily results in outages and damage to transformers, causing hardships for genuine consumers. On Friday alone, the Corporation collected arrear dues amounting to Rs 9.18 crore.
Providing details, a KPDCL spokesperson stated that out of the 1153 inspections carried out in the Kashmir Division, 98 were conducted in Circle I Srinagar, 233 in Circle II Srinagar, 367 in Circle Ganderbal, 140 in Circle Pulwama, 142 in Circle Bijbehara, and 154 in Circle Sopore. Approximately 228 KW load was added across the six Circles of the Corporation during these drives.
A penalty of Rs 7.81 lakh was imposed on those who were unauthorisedly using power, in terms of Section 126 of the Electricity Act. The spokesperson further stated that an additional 1117 domestic, commercial, and industrial connections were disconnected for non-payment of energy dues pending for more than three months, including 886 domestic, 212 commercial, and 17 industrial consumers.
Meanwhile, 62 Domestic Transformers (DTs) were reported damaged on Friday due to overloading, up from 52 reported on Thursday. KPDCL also repaired and replaced 61 transformers on Friday, complying with the directions issued for the replacement of damaged DTs.
The spokesman expressed concern over the steady procession of damaged DTs at Central Workshop Pampore and the divisional workshops of KPDCL, putting strain on meeting the timelines fixed by the Government.
In an attempt to collect pending energy dues, KPDCL realized a revenue of Rs.29.89 crore from consumers, including Rs.9.18 crore on Friday. The corporation requested its consumers to pay their pending bills, or the Corporation will be left with no option but to disconnect their power supply, as stated in the release. (GNS)
