Chandigarh power utility told to curb outages, ramp up response
At a review meeting on Wednesday, Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma pulled up CPDL over a recent seven-hour blackout that hit multiple sectors after moisture caused a busbar flash at the Sector 56 substation. Officials admitted that the anti-hygroscopic paint applied ahead of the monsoon had failed and said dehumidifiers would now be deployed to prevent similar breakdowns.
The meeting, attended by Secretary (engineering) Prerna Puri, Chief Engineer C B Ojha, senior CPDL executives and administration officials, also took stock of measures to strengthen the city's power infrastructure. CPDL reported that it had installed three 20 MVA power transformers and replaced 28 distribution transformers, unlocking an additional 59 MVA capacity. These measures enabled the utility to meet Chandigarh's highest-ever peak demand of 465 MW.
Officials said the utility had expanded its 24×7 call centre, scaling manpower from 17 to 52, and increasing phone lines fivefold to handle consumer complaints. Fault response capacity was augmented with 100 outsourced technicians, 80 in-house technical staff and 20 support assistants, helping restore 95 per cent of outages within two hours in July.
The administration also reviewed progress under the PM Surya Ghar–Muft Bijli Yojana and CPDL's manpower integration, with 72 employees transferred from the UT promoted on a current duty charge basis.
The performance review comes amid public concern over the frequency of power cuts this monsoon and the transition from the erstwhile electricity department to CPDL. The administration is banking on the private operator to modernise a network long dogged by capacity constraints and ageing equipment, with consumer expectations of faster response and more reliable supply running high.
CPDL, which took charge on February 1, flagged areas where it required the administration's support to speed up its upgrade plans. The roadmap ahead, including measures to strengthen field response and grievance redressal, was also discussed at the meeting.
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