BHUBANESWAR: Taking strong exception to frequent power cuts in rural areas of the State, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro on Friday emphasised the need for corrective measures to solve the problem.
Presiding over the first meeting of the Assembly Committee on power, the Speaker said that as Odisha is a power surplus State, people have a right to get uninterrupted power supply.
He asked the Energy department for proper maintenance of the power sub-stations in rural areas to solve the problem of uninterrupted supply. The Speaker said that four sub-committees of the Assembly committee will be formed for monitoring of production, distribution, modernisation and policy matters of the Energy Department.
Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingh Mishra said that people should be informed about the timing of the power cuts and that unscheduled disruptions in power supply should be stopped. BJD member Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak also criticised the State government for the load shedding in rural areas and demanded that the Energy Department should take steps for its early solution. Minister of State for Energy Dibya Shankar Mishra hoped that the situation will improve as stability has returned to power generation.
Secretary of the Energy department NK Dhal told the committee that disruption in power generation from Darlipali power project and less power supply by two industries were mainly responsible for the load shedding. According to the data supplied to the committee, in 2020-21, there were 205 electricity-related accidents which was reduced to 161 in 2021-22.