DHBVN, RWAs discuss steps to improve power supply in Gurugram
In the meeting, discom officials discussed the construction of 33kV switching stations in several societies
Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN) and Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) held a meeting at the discom office in Sector 16 on Friday to enhance cooperation, reduce outages, and strengthen infrastructure in Gurugram. The meeting, presided over by DHBVN chief engineer Vineeta Singh, focused on implementing a unified billing system for consumers with single-point connections to provide tariff slab benefits, as per Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) guidelines, said officials.
In the meeting, discom officials discussed the construction of 33kV switching stations in several societies to address outages and overloading issues, emphasising the need for close coordination between RWAs and sub-divisional officers. Meanwhile, residents of affected areas such as Habitat and Pareena Laxmi in Sector 99A, Imperia Esfera in Sector 37C, City Homes and Lifestyle Homes in Sector 83 and Brisk Lumbini in Sector 109 expressed concerns about delayed repair works and inflated bills generated by developers in single-point connections.
DHBVN agreed to implement the unified billing system at the request of RWAs, train them on the new software, and provide a format for required data collection. The unified billing system will be implemented at the request of the RWAs, and SDOs will provide a set format for the connection of flat data required for the billing system and the discom authorities will train to generate the first bill to give benefit of tariff slab to the consumers of single point connections, the officials said, adding that a new substation is also being built in Sector 83 to mitigate overloading issues in new sectors.
According to officials, in the next year, several of the switching stations will be constructed and the unified billing system will be implemented in pending societies. There are 24 townships or group housing societies out of 108 such societies in Circle-I, where the unified billing system is yet to be implemented. Similarly, the system is yet to be put into action in 22 out of 188 such societies in Circle-II, even after two years since the system’s rollout.
Parveen Thakur, a resident of Sector 99A, said that they have urged DHBVN to take prompt action to address the ongoing electricity connection issues affecting all our societies. “Clear timelines for resolving these issues are crucial, and we request that these be established to ensure timely action,” he said.
Similarly, Gauri Sarin, founder of Making Model Gurugram, said, “Making Model Gurugram Federation has been addressing several urban issues over the years. One key issue that has emerged in the last five years for new high-rise communities is the implementation of the 33kva feeder mandates for builders. Unfortunately, several colonies still suffer from power cuts due to the slow transition,” she added.
The residents said that they met with the chief engineer and her team to address this ongoing issue affecting six colonies such as Lumbini, Vatika Lifestyle Homes, City Homes, Imperia 37C, Habitat, and Pareena Laxmi in Sector 99. “We also discussed the mandated transition to unified billing software, which has not yet been implemented in large parts of Gurgaon, and together we established a process to facilitate this... One concern that was highlighted during the discussion was the resistance from high-consumption societies, as the bills may increase under the new system, whereas low-power consumers would benefit,” said Sarin. In their meeting, she also suggested estate managers and builder representatives be engaged to facilitate the transition to the new billing system.
Shyambir Saini, superintending engineer of Circle-I, assured residents of issuing notices to developers who fail to construct power infrastructure. “If they don’t act, we will fortify their bank guarantees and take up the construction work of switching substations,” Saini said, noting that DHBVN has already encashed some bank guarantees in recent months.
DHBVN officials added that they have details of developers where construction of switching stations are pending and also of the areas where the unified billing system is yet to be implemented. The developers will be served notices to report the progress in construction work for developing the power supply infrastructure. If DHBVN deems that no progress has been made, it will take steps to encash bank guarantees and start the construction works on its own.