'VIP' lines to be snapped in pre-paid areas
Palace compound, Ragailong to come under pre-paid ambit in 2nd phase
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 05 2012: Following successful implementation in Paona Bazaar and Thangal Bazaar areas in the first phase, the pre-paid power supply system initiated by the state government to curb power theft is set to be extended in Palace compound and Ragailong areas under Imphal East district during the second phase.

Official sources in the Electricity department revealed that all connections of Direct Feeder Lines popularly known as VIP lines in the pre-paid areas would be disconnected shortly and a separate power would be started for pre-paid power supply.

The pre-paid power supply system was first started in core areas of Imphal city, namely Paona Bazaar, Thangal Bazaar and Khoyathong areas having more than 3,000 consumers.

In Paona Bazaar alone, there are around 120 consumers, who have bought power recharge cards and started recharging currently after the pre-paid power supply scheme started on experimental basis.

In Paona Bazaar area, installation of meters for pre-paid power system has already started and the installation of similar meters would cover Thangal bazaar area gradually.

It is said that pre-paid power supply system would enable consumers to enjoy uninterrupted power supply as long as there is balance in the consumers account.

As of now, consumers can avail recharge account numbers from the Keishampat Power House by submitting the consumers ID number and the meter number.

A consumer can purchase a recharge value between Rs 503 and Rs 7,000 .

Sources observed that the pre-paid power supply would help both electricity suppliers and consumers in controlling power theft.

Besides trying to bridge the gap in power supply and demand, checking power theft is also necessary as the state has a shortfall of around 80 MW to 90 MW during peak hour requirement in winter.

As a consequence, the consumers receive just three to four hours of power during daytime, sources said.

The state government, reportedly spent around Rs 10 crores in purchasing power against the revenue collection of around Rs 2 crores and it hopes that once its share of power supply from Lower Subansiri (Arunachal Pradesh), Bongaigaon (Assam) and Palatana (Tripura) starts receiving, the problem of shortage of electricity would be over.

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