Chennai: For the past five days, people have been unable to contact Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) officials to register complaints as their phone numbers have become defunct.TNPDCL is replacing the existing Airtel closed user group (CUG) connections of 3,110 field engineers and officers with new Reliance Jio SIMs. “Our previous telecom contractor Airtel did not allow migration to a different network with number portability, in violation of TRAI guidelines,” said a TNPDCL official.TNPDCL chairman and MD V Arun Roy said that the new numbers will be active in a day or two.TNPDCL has 21,953 CUG mobile connections, including 17,919 of BSNL, and 3,110 of Airtel. Under a two-year contract signed in 2022, it paid ₹116.23 per connection a month. After a year’s extension, TNPDCL floated a fresh tender in 2025.Jio was the lowest bidder at ₹53.10 per connection a month, while BSNL agreed to match the rate. Airtel, however, declined. TNPDCL then asked Airtel to facilitate migration to Jio under mobile number portability.TNPDCL also sought the migration of 8,700 BSNL numbers to Jio citing connectivity issues. BSNL has since migrated 4,800 connections. TNPDCL officials accused Airtel of abruptly suspending services on Aug 15.Airtel senior manager Satish told TOI that porting had to be initiated by users. “We received only 300 requests. We sought additional documents since Tangedco became TNPDCL. But TNPDCL had instructed field officers to obtain new Jio or BSNL SIMs. We suspended connections only 15 days after the circular,” he said.
