Power failures make life miserable

SURAT, May 6: Erratic power supply by the Surat Electricity Company has aggravated the worries of harried residents who are battling the rel...

SURAT, May 6: Erratic power supply by the Surat Electricity Company has aggravated the worries of harried residents who are battling the relentless climb of mercury. Frequent power failures at the height of summer, especially when the temperature is unusually high, has angered Surtis no bounds.

The private electricity company8217;s announcement a week ago that consumers would have to put up with power failures as it was upgrading the 66 KV line between the Gujarat Electricity Board8217;s Utran station to Surat had very few takers.

The SEC is doubling the capacity of the line to improve its supply. However, upgradation means one of the two lines is inoperational and the SEC is supplying only 50 per cent power, keeping thousands of customers 8212; both domestic and industrial 8212; without lights and fans for a good part of the day. The work is expected to be completed by May 15.

To compound the matters, the Current Transformer at the C Station located near the Kamela Darwaja, burst in the small hours of Wednesday, forcing thousands of SEC consumers to go without power for most part of the day. The company 8212; managed by the Torrent group 8212; has 3.5 lakh subscribers in Surat; the rest are Gujarat Electricity Board consumers.

The company officials blamed the delay in the upgradation of the line on the state-owned electricity board, as its B station had developed a snag a couple of months ago. However, Surat residents are not bothered as much by these scheduled powercuts as by sudden failures that throw their operations out of gear.

Cut up with the frequent power cuts Sarvajanik Education Society chairman and leading medical practitioner Dr Girish Kazi called up Express Newsline to describe it as 8220;monopolistic terrorism. They are trying to justify their inefficiency by giving names like pre-monsoon, post-monsoon maintenance. The company is holding people to ransom. Not only residents but also hospitals have to suffer because of the SEC8217;s inefficiency.8221;

He wondered how the company could charge the highest rates in Gujarat when frequent powercuts and improper supply was the order of the day.

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Kazi8217;s exasperation was shared by a Gopipura resident, who said, 8220;The rising mercury and power failures have made life difficult for the people. Neither can they stay indoors nor can they move out.8221;

The worst-affected are high-rise residents: one, the lifts don8217;t work and two, they don8217;t get water. If people are calling the SEC names, the GEB is no better. Sudden power failures are blamed on maintenance work, leaving people wondering why the state-owned electricity board chooses the most inappropriate time for imposing cuts. Meanwhile, the city recorded 42.6 degrees C maximum temperature while the minimum temperature was 28.6 degrees C. Though the maximum temperature dropped by one degree on Wednesday 8212; Tuesday8217;s was the season8217;s highest temperature at 43.2 degrees C 8212; it brought little respite to the people.