NGO complains against PSEB inaction
13 May 2009,TNN

MOHALI: Members of the city-based NGO Consumer Protection and Grievances Redressal Forum raised the issue of erratic power supply in Punjab during a public meeting at Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission office in Chandigarh on Monday.

They alleged that Punjab State Electricity Board was not making efforts to generate additional power even as demand for electricity kept increasing in the state.

The NGO’s delegation was led by its president NS Gill. The meeting was regarding the PSEB’s petition for imposing power cuts on consumers.

The forum’s general secretary Col (retd) Angad Singh said that imposing cuts year after year did not speak highly of PSEB’s planning.

He said power thieves should be fined heavily and regular checks carried out in areas with illegal electricity connections.

The NGO’s senior-vice president, Cmdt (retd) JS Dhillon, stated that transmission and distribution losses in electricity were mounting and should be curbed. NGO’s patron MDS Sodhi expressed appreciation for PSEB’s attempts to spread awareness about compact fluorescent lamps.

Legal adviser of the NGO SS Jaspal stated that street lights were often left on all day, which resulted in wastage of power. Gill stressed the need for using alternative sources of energy and for having new power plants so that consumers didn’t suffer every year.

Members of the NGO also recommended that administration should procure additional power, rather than make consumers suffer from non-availability.