Vidyut Board gives up, says load shedding only way out

problem and most parts of south, east and north-west Delhi were without power for long hours due to the DVB system tripping.

Board spokesman Jagdish Kapoor said that though the peak demand was not very high (it was around 2,215 mega watts), the frequency was low (47.9 hertz) and was the root cause of the problem. “The northern grid is providing us with ample power but the frequency is low and the under frequency relays installed by the DVB kept tripping at several places all day long today,” he said.

Board Chairman Virender Singh had said earlier that under frequency relays were being installed to save the DVB distribution system from collapsing. “What can we do? Our generation is not adequate for Delhi’s demands.

Therefore we are totally dependent on the grid. If the grid fails to provide normal frequency, then how are we to blame ?” asked a DVB officer. “We can only hope for the best. And then Delhi is not alone in its suffering. There is a severe electricity problem in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. But then Delhiites have a problem. Even if they have an hour of load shedding they make a big noise about it,” he added.

The spokesman too conceded that there was nothing more that the DVB could do. “We have been left with no alternative but to resort to load shedding on a rotational basis,” he said. “There is no area where residents can say that they have had no electricity for more than two hours at a stretch,” another official added.

However, residents of several clusters in Mayur Vihar and Patparganj complained of long and unscheduled power cuts. “Living in Delhi is so frustrating. There is no redressal because there is no governance. Who do we complain to ?” asked Tarun Srivastava, a resident of the DDA flats in Mayur Vihar. Srivastava said that the chief minister’s credibility was low for despite her claims the situation had gone from bad to worse. “Are courts the solution or should power distribution be given to the Army? Only they can ensure that there is no power theft and those who pay for power get it,” he added.

As complaints poured in from several colonies all over Delhi, a resident of Patparganj said that blocking roads and disrupting normal life was the only way to galvanise the Board into checking power theft and ensuring uninterrupted power supply.

The Board, on its part, maintains it is doing all it can. “Even in this weather we are carrying out repair and maintenance work. Tomorrow, the power supply in Manglapuri, Asalatpur, parts of Janakpuri and Raghu Nagar will be affected due to maintenance work,” the spokesman added.