Power theft: Only 25% of rural houses in Bijnor have electricity meters.

BIJNOR: The Uttar Pradesh government’s plan to provide 24-hour electricity by March 2019 seems to be a pipe dream in Bijnor district where only 25% of the rural households have got meters by now. There are 4.5 lakh electricity consumers in the entire district. And out of these, over two lakh belong to the rural areas. And the state government’s proposed facility of round the clock power supply comes with a rider; the house should have a meter connection.

So far, only 25% of the rural consumers have got electricity meters. According to villagers, achieving the target will be a difficult task given the “slow pace” of work of meter installation. When asked, superintendent engineer of Power Corporation, said, “The work of installation of meters is being done by private companies. We have asked them to set up meters in rural areas by the end of March 2019. Government’s aim is to provide power to rural areas for 24 hours without interruption. But, it will only be possible when all connections in rural area are fixed with meters. The work is going on and I hope that we will achieve the target.”According to data provided by superintendent engineer of Power Corporation office, there is 30% Aggregate Technical and Commercial (ATC) losses in the district. And it is increasing. To reduce ATC and stop power theft, Central and state governments are emphasizing on installation of meters.[Courtesy: The times of India]