While the national Capital is reeling under prolonged and frequent power cuts due to failure in meeting the peak hour power demand, Delhi lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung on Sunday came up with a slew of measures to address the crisis.
As part of measures, the lieutenant-Governor has directed to stop power supply to shopping malls after 10 pm and keep high mast halogen streetlights off during peak power consumption.
During a meeting to review the power situation in Delhi on Sunday, Jung asked all Government offices, including Delhi Secretariat, universities and colleges to switch off the air conditioners between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm. “This does not include emergency services and institutions such as hospitals,” he said. “Peak load conditions occur in the city between 3 pm and 5 pm and then again from10 pm to 1 am during night. These measures shall be adopted with immediate effect,” said an official from the power department.
Besides, the high mast halogen lamps in the streets which consume more power will now be switched off during peak hours at night to conserve energy.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary (Power), senior officers of Delhi Transco limited (DTl) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of all the power distribution companies.
The lG also directed the power companies to announce the schedule for power cuts to people in advance. “Whenever there is less power supply, the power distribution companies will announce a schedule informing people about the timings when electric supply will be cut,” said Jung in a statement.
Jung’s call to stop power supply to malls after 10 pm got a cold response from the people. “We used to step out of our homes at night only. Most of the times when there is loadshedding in the night, we go to mall as it is always air-conditioned. I don’t know if this is a good move or if it will even have any impact in our lives,” said Nehali Jain, a student of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.
Discoms have also been asked to strengthen their call centres by increasing the number of lines and deploying additional staff so that there is better communication with the public.
Jung has also appealed to the citizens of Delhi to bear with the situation, as the city is trying to cope with the damage caused to its transmission towers and power lines due to the recent thunderstorms. “The Government is aware of the hardship being faced by the people and continues to take all steps to ease the situation. It appeals to the people to avoid agitational modes that often hamper restoration process wherever faults appear,” Jung maintained in the statement. He also advised that people should run their air-conditioners at 25 degree Celsius or above and take all measures at home and offices to conserve electricity.
On Saturday, the demand of 5,152 MW was met but as there was an unrestricted peak demand of about 5,600 MW, it resulted in load shedding of around 400 MW during peak hours in several parts of the city.