Logix County residents demand multipoint power connections

Under the multipoint system, the electricity department directly supplies power to individual flats with separate meters and consumer need only pay as per their usage

Accusing the apartment owners’ association of “overcharging for electricity”, eesidents of Logix Blossom County in Sector 137, Noida, have urged the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) to conduct an immediate inspection of the premises and expedite the implementation of a multipoint connection (MPC) system, in place of the single point connection.

Residents said the apartment owners association (AOA) is exploiting them using ”inflated electricity bills” and also accused the AOA of “meter tampering (HT Photo)

Under the multipoint system, the electricity department directly supplies power to individual flats with separate meters and consumer need only pay as per their usage.

Whereas, under single point connection, the electricity department provides one connection for an entire society and the internal distribution is handled by the developer or the residents’ association through prepaid meters.

Residents said the apartment owners association (AOA) is exploiting them using ”inflated electricity bills” and also accused the AOA of “meter tampering”.

“We have been struggling with inflated bills for far too long and the lack of transparency from the AOA is frustrating. We want a fair system that doesn’t exploit us,” said resident Anil Dube.

Residents at Logix Blossom County said a survey was conducted by UPPCL, to find out whether majority residents need multipoint connections, but the results were never shared with them.

“The survey was conducted to assess the feasibility of switching to MPC and despite the completion of the survey, the results have not been shared with us till date,” said Dube.

There are also allegations that the AOA is selling additional electricity load to residents without having that much sanctioned load from the power department, thus putting the entire society at risk.

Resident Avtar Singh said, “The society’s sanctioned load is merely 6,500 kVA, a stark contrast to the actual requirement of over 17,000 KVA, leaving the society severely overloaded and vulnerable to potential disasters. Despite this critical situation, the AOA has failed to secure adequate load sanctions or upgrade the electricity infrastructure, putting residents’ lives at risk.”

Additionally, the residents are angry about the alleged tampering of electricity meters.

“It is imperative that only approved government technicians be allowed to inspect and maintain our meters to prevent any malpractices. The current situation, wherein unknown individuals are tampering with our meters without our knowledge or consent, is unacceptable and potentially hazardous,” said Shweta Mishra, another resident.

The AOA denied all allegations levelled by residents.

“The power infrastructure set up by the builder is not adequate. Instead of placing 2000kVA transformers, 4000kVA transformers should have been set up and that is root of all these issues. If the internal infrastructure is not capable of handling the load, further distribution is not possible ,” said Manoj Prasad, AOA president.

“Multipoint connections are welcome but we were told that the power infrastructure needed for 2,381 flats was not in place at the society,” said Prasad, adding that a case pertaining to the issue had already been filed in the Allahabad high court and National Company Law Tribunal.

Logix Blossom County, spread across 24 acres, has 2,381 flats and 2,300 of them are occupied by about 5,000 people.

The power discom has distanced itself from the responsibility of monitoring internal society meters. “Our jurisdiction only extends to the main single point meter installed outside, and we do not have the authority to inspect or monitor the internal society meters,” said Arvinder Kumar, SDO, PVVNL, Noida.