ELECTRICITY WOES

The Power situation at Chennai seems to be at its worst. One consolation is that the other states are also in a similar situation. There must have been a total lack of planning in the recent past about the actual energy requirements for the State. It is easy for the Government to say that the energy consumption has gone up in the past few years. Anyway excuses are plenty and people have become resigned to their fate.

Having failed once, the TNEB could have rectified the situation by planning the power cuts properly. Instead the power shutdowns have been haphazard putting people to further difficulty. Some opposition parties have raised the issues, but people have lost the will to protest. With the result there has been no pressure brought on the Department to streamline the supplies. The Industries are the worst hit. Due to the haphazard power shutdowns there has been a huge loss to the Industrial production, that too in the days when the markets are under a depression. Many of the smaller industrial units have had to close down their opertations. But how does it affect the Electricity board or the Government, which is more interested in populist measures and another country’s problems?.

But one thing must be said of the Electricity Board. They do attend to the telephone calls politely as well as attend to any breakdowns. But do not expect ‘service with a smile’. Be prepared for a resenting face with harsh replies. Become immune to them, that is the best way.

There are a lot of ways the TNEB can make it convenient for its customers. There are long queues in all the counters for the payment of bills. Though there are 4 to 5 counters and the people are dealt with faster, it still takes a person half to one hour for the payment of his bills.
This can be avoided with i) extending the hours of payment counters, and ii) by starting the system of 24 hours bill payment kiosks at strategic places. The epayment system started by TNEB, I heard, is not working properly.

The present meter reading system can be done away with as it is both cumbersome and costly. Instead the person coming for meter reading can be given an electronic billing counter and he can hand over the bill to the concerned house in a matter of minutes.

The TNEB can advertise or publicise to educate the household ways and means to conserve power which will in the state and national interest as a large part of the power is wasted presently.The transformer used presently are by and large faulty and of sub-standard quality. The Board should purchase good, standard transformers and other electricity parts to increase efficiency and avoid breakdowns. Pilferage should be controlled. Noisy loud-speakers should be discouraged. People should sing and dance to their own voices and not use electrically opearated devices. This way there is both enjoyment as well as the neighbours are not disturbed.