Discoms told to ‘rigorously’ check data from IT-enabled feeders

Responding to inadequate and irregular data submissions, the Union power ministry has asked the state-owned electricity distribution companies (discoms) to ‘rigorously’ check information from urban feeders before uploading them in the public domain.

As many as 4,057 urban feeders—which track the quality of power supply in under the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) in 1,388 IT-enabled towns—are not regularly communicating power supply information. About 15% of such feeders (24,537 feeders across 12 major states) have recorded aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of more than 50% between March 2018 and February 2019, according to letters sent to the discoms from the Centre.

Uttar Pradesh towns such as Gangoh, Bahjoi, Sardhana, Amroha and Tanda have recorded AT&C losses—indicator of discom efficiency and power pilferage—of more than 60%. More than 62% of the feeders in Jharkhard are showing AT&C loss levels of more than 50%. Transaction data for as many as 32.2% of feeders in West Bengal, 31.6% in Uttar Pradesh and 30.8% in Chhattisgarh are not available, the letters, reviewed by FE, revealed.