BESCOM is taking up massive initiatives to check all electrical equipment in low-lying areas of the city to ensure proper insulation and prevent electrocution cases.
Speaking about the challenges faced by BESCOM, its Chief General Manager Ananda Naik said, “The infrastructure is old and has to be improved. There must also be 100 per cent redundancy, but both these will cost a lot of money and face issues like Right of Way.”
He added that BESCOM will target a maximum outage of around 50 MW this monsoon and will increase the number of response teams to 2-3 in each of the 155 section offices.
“We will aim to attend 66 per cent of the complaints in one hour, 15 per cent in two hours, 10 per cent in three hours and so on. The most difficult problems will be dealt with within six hours,” he said.
BESCOM received close to 6,000 complaints during the May 31 rains. During a cloudburst two weeks ago, about 450 MW of power supply was affected. However, the outage stood at 150 MW last Friday.
Precautions
However, it said there are certain precautions one can take to stay safe this monsoon.
If you find a power line close to your house or touching a tree, call the helpline.
If you find transformers or BESCOM boxes in low-lying areas which are likely to be inundated, call authorities
When it rains, do not stand or touch any tree. The tree may be in contact with a power line.
Do not stand near or below a power line. You may be electrocuted due to induction, even if you do not actually touch the line. Due to very high humidity, conductivity of air increases.
If an electric pole has been uprooted, do not go near it. Call the helpline.
The BESCOM helpline can be reached on 080-22873333 or send an SMS: BESCOM complaint to 92431-50000.