The problem of overloading of power transformers in Chandigarh has put the UT Electricity Department in a tight spot with no possible solution in sight.
Much to the UT’s dismay, the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) introduced by the UT Electricity Department has received poor response from the city residents.
Only five residents have come forward to declare authorised electricity load under VDS this year. While last year, about 5,000 applications under VDS were received by the UT Electricity Department.
Blame it on the poor governance of UT Electricity Department or the unconcern of the city of riches, the VDS introduced in June 2011 has miserably failed to achieve its intended objective.
Every year, the city residents face the double whammy of unscheduled power cuts and sweltering heat. And, the UT Electricity Department blames the frequent power breakdowns across the city on undeclared load.
The UT Electricity Department claims that over a lakh city households have not disclosed their unauthorised extension of load under VDS.
According to the department's officials, there has been an increase in the use of ACs and this overloads the system due to which transformers develop faults in summer resulting in power cuts.
The VDS was introduced by the Electricity Department in 2011 for regularisation of unauthorised extension in electric load in respect of domestic consumers.
Under VDS, the UT Electricity Department had asked the city residents to furnish the details of connected load for regularisation of their unauthorised load.
The disclosure of actual load under VDS by the residents was to assist the UT Electricity Department to upgrade the electricity distribution system to ensure uninterrupted and quality of power supply to the city denizens.
While the application and format for change in electric load was provided by the department with the electricity bills, only five applications were received this year where 98.4 per cent households have electricity facility.
While talking to The Pioneer, MP Singh, Superintending Engineer, UT Electricity wing said, "Over a lakh households in the city have not declared their actual electric load and are drawing excess power. In the recent past, many cases of unauthorised extension of load and theft of electricity were observed by the department."
"However, this year, only five applications under VDS were received. last year, about 5,000 applications under VDS were received," he added."
He added: "The power breakdowns in the city are often a result of overloading of the power transformers at the grid stations. Given the poor response to VDS, now the department is looking at other possibilities to check the unauthorised extension of load."
This season, the power demand has reached 340 MW on May 23. The demand for power is expected to reach 400 MW in the peak of summer, which was 353 MW last year in the city.
In order to safeguard the electricity distribution system from the over loading, need based rotational load shedding are already effective from May 30 in various parts of the city.