Chandigarh: Chandigarh’s electricity distribution network recorded a marked improvement in power-supply reliability during the July-Sept quarter, with the frequency and duration of power interruptions declining substantially. However, consumer complaints rose 15% over the previous quarter, highlighting continuing problems related to cable breakdowns, billing, scheduled outages and faulty meters, according to the quarterly performance report submitted by Chandigarh Power Distribution Ltd (CPDL) to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC).The reliability indices for the city’s 11kV feeders show a steady decline in interruptions during the second quarter. The System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), measuring sustained interruptions lasting more than three minutes, fell from 5.37 in June to 1.29 in Sept, a reduction of nearly 76%.The System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) also declined from 2.21 to 0.64 during the same period. The Momentary Average Interruption Frequency Index (MAIFI), covering interruptions lasting three minutes or less, fell from 5.58 to 1.29.The improvement continued through the quarter. SAIFI declined from 2.27 in July to 1.79 in Aug and 1.29 in Sept, while SAIDI fell from 1.45 to 0.64. The indices cover 2,61,325 consumers connected to 11kV feeders, excluding agricultural feeders.This marks a reversal of the April-June trend, when SAIFI had increased from 3.74 in April to 5.37 in June and SAIDI from 1.48 to 2.21.Complaints rise despite better reliabilityDespite the improvement in reliability, fresh consumer complaints increased from 53,057 in April-June to 61,041 in July-Sept, an addition of 7,984 complaints, or 15%.Cable breakdowns accounted for the largest share, with complaints relating to overhead lines and underground cables rising from 33,719 to 36,544. They constituted nearly 60% of all fresh complaints in the second quarter.Billing complaints also increased from 6,814 to 7,280 amid the transition from bimonthly to monthly billing following a JERC directive. CPDL attributed the rise primarily to this change, stating that complaints were being resolved at a faster rate than new ones were being received.At the end of June, 595 billing complaints were pending. With 7,280 fresh complaints in the second quarter, the total reached 7,875. CPDL reported that all were redressed by September-end, although 814 were resolved beyond the stipulated time.Scheduled outage complaints more than doubled, from 1,570 in the first quarter to 3,710 in the second, an increase of 136%. Meter complaints rose 62%, from 728 to 1,176, while complaints concerning transfer of connections and related services jumped from 796 to 2,579.Grid substation and power transformer-related complaints increased from 1,905 to 3,334.Some categories recorded improvement. Voltage fluctuation complaints declined from 5,502 to 4,895, normal fuse-off complaints from 1,041 to 888, and distribution transformer failure complaints marginally from 639 to 635.The report also records 1,021 faulty or defective meters added during the second quarter, all of which were shown as rectified or replaced by Sept-end.
