Chandigarh: Power company doubles count of call centre lines

To facilitate residents connect with the Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL) helpline, the utility provider has doubled the number of its call centre lines from 10 to 20. This comes in response to complaints of long waiting time faced by residents in connecting with the helpline to report power outages.

Additionally, more customer support personnel have been added to the existing team to improve response times and address concerns more efficiently.

To enhance on-ground operations during emergencies such as the one witnessed yesterday when storm lashed the city, the CPDL has added 10 new pickup vehicles to its existing fleet of cranes, boom ladders, and service vehicles. The move aims to expedite response and repair work at affected locations.

On Wednesday evening, the city experienced high-velocity winds reaching speeds of 65 km/h, which caused widespread damage to the city’s power infrastructure. The storm uprooted trees and brought down branches, damaging power infrastructure in several sectors.

As a result, the city witnessed load shedding in nearly 50% of its areas.

This led to a surge in complaint calls from consumers, overwhelming the CPDL call centre and making it difficult for many to reach customer support.

CPDL Director Arun Kumar Verma said, “It was an unforeseen, high-intensity storm. Our teams were mobilised immediately and they worked tirelessly throughout the night in challenging conditions. We responded promptly to faults and emergencies and were able to restore power within a few hours.”