Power failure complaints flood Bescom helpline

Frequent power failures in the City due to incessant rainfall in the past 24 hours led to a flood of complaints at Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom). The authorities in the power supply company stated that they have responded to nearly 93 percent of the complaints.

The depression in the Bay of Bengal due to Nilam Cyclone left the phones ringing 24X7 in the complaint section of Bescom. It received 3,753 complaints of power failure, which according to the Bescom authorities is a record by itself as the complaints received were the highest in the history of Bescom.

“The number of complaints received between 6 pm on Wednesday (October 31, 2012) and 6 pm on Friday (November 1, 2012) was the highest in the last decade. Long persistent rains cause more damage than heavy downpour,” said an Bescom official.

The power consumption graph, which always showed an increase, dropped to 1,200 megawatts, while the authorities say that it might be due to drop in use of airconditioners.

Considering the flood of complaints, Bescom has set up 25 more receiving systems. Noting that at present there are 25 lines for the number 22873333, which functioned round the clock, the authorities said they have by now attended to 93 percent of complaints numbering 3,490, which is also a record in Bescom.

Bescom said the power supply to the remaining complaints will be restored by 11 pm in the night. The authorities said in many places power supply has been restored despite the electric poles and trees being uprooted. Accordingly, in addition to 366 teams, 127 additional teams were pressed into service, which strived to restore power. These teams attended to 48 percent of the complaints in one hour. Considering the forecast, the Bescom has also decided to increase helplines to 32 and the emergency response teams from 127 to 150. Bescom attributes this achievement to the newly procured wireless sets.
Otherwise, according to them, it would have taken at least two days to respond to complaints.

In addition to the falling branches and trees, power was also disrupted due to seepage of water in cable lines and short circuits due to heavy wind. The Bescom has also launched a facebook page, https: //www.facebook.com/md.bescom, where consumers can get all the information.

Bescom authorities said the longest time taken to attend to a complaint till now is 11.5 hours, while the average time taken to attend to a complaint is 3.20 minutes.