Local govt dept tells MC to reduce power expenses

Amritsar, May 19

The Department of Local Governments has written to the municipal corporation (MC) to reduce its power expenditure. In a recent letter, officials of the department instructed the MC to reduce electricity costs of 548 tubewells and 85,000 streetlights. The department asked the MC to adjust the load of tubewells and streetlights as per the load sanctioned by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

Officials of the deparment have also sought a report on the corrected load of the MC after negotiations with PSPCL by May 22.

Due to mismanagement, the MC has been paying a heavy amount to the PSPCL for the power bills. Outdated equipment consumes more power than the units sanctioned by the PSPCL. Officials instructed the MC to adjust the electricity load of the streetlights as per the actual consumption and install capacitors to save the energy inorder to reduce the power expenses.

The MC has been using 540 heavy load motors on the tubewells, a number of motors in sewage and water treatment plants. The Department of Local Government instructed the civic body to adjust the load of these tubewell motors accordingly so that the penalty amount could be reduced.

The MC has been paying penalty for using energy over than the sanctioned load. The department also instructed the MC to replace the old machinery with new energy efficient machines and conduct an energy audit.