State power minister Aroop Biswas asked CESC on Friday to ensure uninterrupted power supply and inform residents of a neighbourhood through text messages if supply to the area is to be disrupted.
Biswas, an official in the state power department said, also asked the city’s monopoly power utility to use high-powered generator sets in areas suffering a power outage until the supply is restored.
The minister conveyed this to senior officials of CESC during a “preparatory meeting” in the wake of the heatwave and the subsequent rise in demand for power.
Metro reported on April 6 that power cuts had returned to parts of the city like during the spells of severe heat last year.
An official in the state power department quoted the minister as telling the CESC team at the meeting: “Ensure uninterrupted power supply and make arrangements for high-power generators to provide back-ups in places suffering power outage till the supply is restored.”
The minister also asked the power utility to send text messages to its consumers keeping them informed about any power outage in their areas, the official said. The company has been asked to deploy more personnel to cater to complaints.
CESC officials who attended the meeting on Friday later told Metro the company is “prepared” for the summer.
“We have already made arrangements for an adequate number of generators. The manpower has been increased to address complaints on time,” said a CESC official.
According to data shared by the power utility, this year’s highest peak demand was 2,340MW, reported between 3.30pm and 4pm on Thursday. Last year, the highest peak demand was 2,606MW, reported on June 16.
CESC serves most of Calcutta and its neighbouring districts — the two 24-Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly.
In the summer of 2023, vast stretches of the city fed by CESC faced prolonged power cuts as the Celsius soared and the demand for power went up.
Hundreds of Calcuttans had alleged that the CESC helpline number was ineffective and their complaints were not addressed on time.
Many said CESC’s technicians were late in reaching their neighbourhoods. At times, they were “hijacked” enroute by residents of other neighbourhoods facing power cuts.
Several incidents of violence had been reported against CESC technicians, who were far less in number than the reported complaints.