New Delhi, 1 August 2008

Press Release

Mob of 150 goes on rampage in BSES’ colony @ Urja Vihar, East Delhi

• Mob of 150 led by a ‘prominent’ politically active person in Mandawali goes on rampage in Urja Vihar – a BSES colony
• Mob damages vehicles – cars and motor cycles – belonging to residents – besides damaging Electricity wires in the colony
• BSES has filed a FIR at the local Police Station
• Mob, belonging to an unauthorized colony was protesting a short-duration local fault and did not let BSES field staff rectify it
• Investigations revealed fault due to ‘Overloading” of the system – caused by a severe mis-match between Connected and Sanctioned load
• System over loading leads to trippings and unscheduled outages besides short circuits
• BSES appeals to its customers to enhance their electricity load in commensurate with their requirement

BSES officials on enforcement raids getting routinely threatened, intimidated and even physically abused is common knowledge. But what happened in Urja Vihar in East Delhi recently, is simply unprecedented and shocking.

Around 11: 30 pm, a mob of around 150 people entered the colony - comprising of 85 families of mainly BSES and a few DTL officials by scaling its high boundary walls and went on rampage. The mob fury saw several cars and motorcycles – belonging to the residents getting damaged. The mob did not stop at this. They also damaged electricity wires in the colony. Incidentally, the mob – belonging to an unauthorized colony in Mandawali was led by a prominent politically active person.

The situation was finally brought under control with the arrival of the local Police. A FIR has been filed by BSES at the local Police Station. So far, though no arrests have been made but investigations into the incident are underway.

Earlier there was a short-duration local fault in this unauthorized colony in Mandawali. First, some anti social elements – instigated by a prominent person from the area – refused to let BSES field staff rectify the electricity fault in the colony and later they caused mayhem in the BSES colony.

Investigations into the local fault revealed that the fault was caused by “overloading” of the local distribution system. “The reason behind over-loading of the distribution system, which leads to unscheduled disruption, is often caused on account of over consumption / drawl of power. This happens when there is a huge mismatch between Connected load and Sanctioned load”, said a BSES official.

Citing an example, the official added, “You have an electricity connection, of say 2 KW (= 2000 Watts). But over the years, you keep on adding electricity guzzling gadgets like Air Conditioners, Geysers, Blowers etc. – but don’t have your sanctioned load enhanced from 2 KW, to say 5 KW or 10 KW – depending on your changing requirement. Not only does this put a huge strain on the network, leading to trippings and outages, but is also a safety hazard. It can, and often does, lead to short circuiting.

According to a BSES spokesperson, “The onus of reliable, safe and uninterrupted power supply is as much the responsibility of the discom, as it is of its customers. BSES, once again appeals to its customers, to enhance their sanction load – commensurate with their requirement”

BSES, Delhi’s premier power distribution company, is committed to ensuring quality and reliable electricity supply to all its consumers.

For further information please contact:

Prashant Dua	Chandra P Kamat
Corporate Communications	Corporate Communications
39999870 / 9312007822	39999088/9350130304