No move to disconnect power to homes exceeding load: Minister

PANAJI

Days after the issue rocked some of the gram sabha meetings in Salcete villages, Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar on Tuesday said, the power department has not taken any decision to cut off connections because the load in households has increased beyond the sanctioned load.

“The Electricity department has not taken any decision to disconnect power connections because of increase in the load of households," Dhavalikar said, adding that it will help the department if people notify the actual load of their household as it will help in planning upgrade of transformers in localities.

"Other than the fees for a three-phase connection, the consumer does not have any other financial implication. But, it will help the department in planning installation of new transformers so fluctuations are reduced. That's why the department is finding out the actual load requirements of a specific household or housing society,” Dhavalikar said.

Recently, some consumers in villages in Salcete had raised the issue at their gram sabha meetings that they have been receiving notices and extra charges in their electricity bills for excessive power loads in their households.

Meanwhile, Dhavalikar said the electricity department has begun working on upgrading power infrastructure by taking up projects, including underground cabling, across all 40 assembly constituencies of the State.