Power department cuts losses by 2.87%, recovers dues of ₹162 crore

The electricity department has managed to reduce aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses by 2

The electricity department has managed to reduce aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses by 2.87% this year, officials of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) said on Wednesday, citing checks on electricity theft on a large scale as the main reason. The department registered 48,729 cases of power theft in 2020-21 and fines to the tune of ₹162 crore were realised, officials said.

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Dr Balkar Singh, the managing director of DHBVN, said that the transmission and other losses in 2020-21 have decreased sharply as the discom focussed on reducing losses. “The transmission losses have come down from 16.50% last year to 13.63% this year. One of the major reasons for AT&C loss is electricity theft. To check the theft of electricity, campaigns were also organised from time to time by DHBVN, with special teams to check electricity theft and monitor them regularly,” said Singh.

Aggregate technical and commercial losses are a combination of energy loss (technical loss, theft and inefficiency in billing) and commercial loss (default in payment and inefficiency in collection).

Singh also said was the government departments and agencies were asked to pay electricity bills on time and they also launched a large-scale exercise to disconnect electricity connections of defaulting consumers.

When asked about the timelines of the Smartgrid project in the city as electricity consumers across the city face power cuts, especially due to meteorological factors, Singh assured that work will be carried out at an accelerated pace. “The lockdowns have impacted the project work but the Smartgrid team has assured me that two modules will be completed by July this year. The wind storms and squall this year have been far stronger and have damaged cables in many cities, including Gurugram, but this will be minimised,” said Singh.

Officials said that around 40% of the electricity lines in sectors 1 to 57 of Gurugram have been laid underground.

Kulvinder Singh, executive engineer, Smartgrid project, Gurugram, said, “The remaining areas would be covered in the next one year at the most.”

In a related development, DHBVN officials said that consumers can also get meter reading errors rectified from home. An official said that a facility of trust reading is being provided by Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam). In case the readings are wrong, consumers can get the bill rectified by uploading the correct meter reading on the department’s website, said officials.