The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), Mysuru, on Wednesday announced that the preventive maintenance of transmission lines, transformers and other installations in the industrial areas here will be carried out on a Sunday instead of a weekday (Thursday), as suggested by industrialists and other entrepreneurs.
Also, the preventive maintenance, which was being carried out to avoid breakdown of supply to major consumers, will be not be carried out during the month-end since the industries would be busy in productions to meet the monthly targets and any disruption in supply would result in a loss for them.
CESC Managing Director H.N. Gopalakrishna announced this decision following suggestions from industrialists at a consumer interaction session held here. More than 300 consumers attended the session and aired their grievances and suggestions to the CESC. The top-level management of CESC attended.
A representative of Small Scale Industries’ Association suggested periodic maintenance of transformers in the industrial areas as many of them were more than 30-40 years old and sought multiple meters for multi-storeyed or vertical industries.
Voltage fluctuations and inadequate transmission line maintenance should be considered in Hebbal industrial areas like in other industrial zones, another representative suggested.
Satish of Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged the CESC to consider laying underground cables for the transmission of electricity in the industrial areas of Mysuru.
Pre-paid meters
Suresh Kumar Jain, a city industrialist and Secretary, Mysore Industries Association, suggested a separate tariff for MSMEs as done in other States.
The CESC can propose the idea to KERC since it will help the sector largely, he felt.
He also urged the CESC to allot pre-paid meters to MSMEs which could avoid security deposits for them. The meter costs will be borne by the MSMEs, he added.
Some real estate developers complained of delayed delivery of transformers from the supplier despite making payments in advance. The problem has not been resolved despite repeated reminders to the engineers concerned, they added.
Responding to questions on regularising temporary electricity connections in some layouts that have been declared as abandoned, CESC Director (Technical) Aftab Ahmed said the matter was before the KERC and a decision was expected in a few days’ time.
“We have information about the presence of 17-18 such layouts and we understand the problem.”
Hefty power bills
Many residents from the abandoned layouts said they have been paying hefty power bills though the layouts have completed 10 years. The temporary connections have not been regularised following problems with the layout formations and facilities.
After some participants insisted on announcing a time-limit for resolving the matter, the MD said he would make an appeal to KERC and also send the proceedings of the consumer interaction to it.
Security deposit
A consumer, Ashwath Narayana, sought to know from the CESC why it was collecting ₹ 7,000 as meter security deposit for temporary connections when there is no such provision made by the KERC.
