During this challenging time of COVID-19 pandemic, electricity plays an important role. Whether it is work from home or for any other activities depending on electricity. Everyone heave a sigh of relief with the coming of Prepaid Electric and with the conversion of Manipur Electricity Department to Manipur State Power Distribution Company Limited (MSPDCL) and Manipur State Power Company Limited (MSPCL) in 2012. Gone were the days of regular load shedding and irregular power supply. Most of the people are now paying their Bills regularly and using power economically, all thanks to the prepaid system.
Albeit, for the past few weeks most of the consumers are experiencing frequent power cuts. When contacted to the concerned authority about the reason of the power outage, there seems to be always a reason or two for the power cut. One time, it will be a particular division feeder tripping or jungle cutting or some other reasons.
It is acceptable to have power outages due to a problem or two but to have power outages everyday, is not acceptable. We understand that the people at the Power Department is working day and night to curb such problems, but at times feels like there is something wrong as the frequency of the power outages has increased manifold. Is it because of outdated or faulty infrastructure being used for power distribution or is it because of the increase in power load as people are staying at home and using more power? One way or the other, this need to be addressed.
Also, few days back there was complaint from some consumers about the problem of recharging their account, as the process of Online recharge is too confusing for some users. The portal for recharging online was down for quite few days and many were left in the dark as how to recharge their account. Yes, they did developed a portal where one can send a recharge request and wait for the people from MSPDCL to send them manually the recharge voucher. One has to wait like 3 to 4 hours in order to get their recharge voucher whereas in some worse case scenario, one has to wait like 24hrs. A big company like MSPDCL unable to develop a fully automated and efficient portal for recharging is such a big shame. On the bright side, the old recharge portal that enables consumers to generate voucher instantly seems to be working fine as of now.
People are asking if we are going back to those dark days of frequent load shedding and many are skeptical if power are being misused. MSPDCL need to evaluate and work on to provide efficient power supply to the people, otherwise there may come a time when people will refuse to pay their bills like old days and use unscrupulous means.
