The Thirubuvanai sub-division of the Puducherry Electricity Department (PED) has driven home the power of persuasion by virtually talking low-income rural users out of the habit of illegally drawing power, and instead, opting for regular electricity connections
First of its kind
The camp held by the sub-division staff at Kamaraj Nagar in Madagadipet on Wednesday was the first of its kind in the city to check power theft by encouraging and facilitating low-income families in rural areas to enjoy regular electricity connections.
“We spent almost the whole of last week counselling the families in these tenements to stop using hooks to illegally draw power,” said S.R. Raviraj, assistant engineer at the Thirubuvanai sub division who conceived the idea of winning them over through persuasion.
Usually, PED field staff disconnected supply when they detect power theft but would find that the hooks were back on the lines after a couple of days.
This time, they chose to talk them out of the habit.
The talking points included how the department was running at a loss, how it was purchasing power from Neyveli, how theft would only attract a disconnection that would deprive them of power during night hours and even how they would also be making a small but significant contribution to nation-building by becoming regular consumers.
Swtich boards given
“We filled out the forms for the consumers and provided labour to make the switch boards. All they did was to sign the forms and remit the nominal amount for a connection,” said Mr. Raviraj.
During the camp at Kamaraj Nagar, 22 households have switched to regular electricity connections and have been provided supply.
The sub-division will continue to hold such outreach initiatives in other rural areas.
In fact, the PED higher-ups also want this initiative to be a model for sub-divisions across the entire city.
It is also proposed to provide door-step facilitation for new connections on the same day of request.
