UP Govt to adopt “tough Gujarat model” to curb power theft: Shrikant Sharma

Lucknow, Apr 13 (KNN) In an effort to curb power theft in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government said it will adopt “the tough Gujarat Model” which aims to constitute a dedicated vigilance squads and set up special police stations to check pilferage.

“An iron hand approach is needed to tackle the menace of rampant power theft. The state government will adopt the tough Gujarat Model for checking power theft which has turned out to be a big problem,” Power Minister Shrikant Sharma has said.

In an interview to a news agency, Sharman said the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has set a limit of 15 per cent Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, but UP accounts for almost 32 per cent.

“The high rate of pilferage needs to be brought down drastically to ensure round the clock power supply in the state. For this, the state government would first identify feeders where power theft is maximum,” Sharma said.

The Gujarat government has created five dedicated police stations at Vadodara, Surat, Sabarmati, Rajkot and Bhavnagar to deal with cases of power theft.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had asked the power department to ensure replacement of defective or burnt transformers in rural areas so that agricultural operations do not suffer.

Sharma said it has been decided to change defective transformers within 48 hours instead of 72, the time fixed earlier, and within 24 hours in urban areas.

Sharma said the ambitious ‘Power for All’ pact will be signed by Adityanath and Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal here on April 14 to meet the Centre’s target of making the state energy efficient by 2018 and help in ensuring power in all UP villages.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME), the apex body for MSME associations across the country, has sought appointment from Shrikant Sharma, the new Power Minister of UP, for discussion about improving Power Sector in the state.

In a letter to Sharma, FISME said, “You would have known it by now first-hand that the Power sector in UP is in a dismal condition. Your promise of availability of power 24x7 is needed to be redeemed not only for saving millions of people from drudgery of extremes of weather in absence of electricity but even more importantly, for reviving business and industry for creation of jobs for millions of unemployed army of youth in the state.”

FISME- the national body of MSMEs, have been studying the issues of power and following power sector reforms for decades.

 “However, the earlier regime never aroused sufficient confidence in us to have a serious dialogue to improve power sector in the state.  But we have sincere hope that the present Government will take up the cudgels to discipline the DISCOMs and effect much needed power sector reforms,” the letter added.