BEST seeks 6 months to fix Mumbai power outages

BEST officials said they would increase the number of emergency response vehicles in every ward from one to four, recruit staff to address manpower shortage

Mumbai: Facing mounting criticism over recurring power outages in south Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking on Wednesday assured the Maharashtra legislature that it would address the operational shortcomings behind the disruptions within six months.

BEST has been facing mounting criticism over recurring power outages in south Mumbai. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

At a high-level meeting convened by assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, BEST officials said they would increase the number of emergency response vehicles in every ward from one to four, recruit staff to address manpower shortages, and replace temporary jumper wires with permanent service cables to improve the reliability of power supply across the city.

According to legislators who attended the meeting, Narwekar warned BEST general manager Sonia Sethi that a breach-of-privilege motion would be initiated if the assurances were not fulfilled within the six-month period.

Confirming BEST’s assurances, Narwekar told HT, “At present, there is only one emergency response van for each ward. We will increase that number to four so that complaints can be attended to much faster. Damaged cables will be removed immediately, and temporary jumper wires will be replaced with permanent service cables to ensure a more reliable power supply.”

The assurances came a day after legislators across party lines raised concerns in the assembly over frequent power failures and delays in restoring electricity, prompting Narwekar to summon BEST officials for an explanation.

During Wednesday’s meeting, legislators highlighted several operational shortcomings that they said had hampered BEST’s ability to ensure an uninterrupted power supply. According to a person familiar with the discussions, Sethi acknowledged the deficiencies and assured them that corrective measures would be implemented on a war footing.

Sethi also sought to make a presentation before the speaker and legislators, but they declined. “I told her that I don’t want to see any presentations. I work on the ground. I personally approach your electrical engineers on a daily basis to get repair work done. Many times, they refuse because they are overburdened,” said one of the MLAs who attended the meeting, requesting anonymity.

MLAs such as Amin Patel from the Congress, R Tamil Selvan from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Ajay Choudhari from the Shiv Sena (UBT) attended the meeting, held in the speaker’s chamber at the state legislature.

During the discussions, Sethi said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had instructed BEST not to undertake fresh recruitment, resulting in a manpower shortage. However, minister of state for urban development Madhuri Misal said BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide had informed her that BEST is an autonomous undertaking and that the civic body does not interfere in its administrative functioning.