Electricity employees’ strike affect services

Tirupati: Consumer services like collection of monthly bills, handing over of bills and others were badly affected due to the 72-hour strike of the electricity employees of AP Southern Power Distribution Company Limited. However, the employees rectified majority of the complaints regarding power supply in all the six districts of its jurisdiction.

SPDCL Chairman and Managing Director HY Dora said that all the bill collections were halted in all the districts with the 72-hour strike of employees. The computing of monthly consumption of domestic as well as commercial consumers also came to a halt with this strike, he added.

Whereas the employees were attending to the complaints received from consumers through complaint cell within short time despite them being on strike, he pointed. The essential services like hospitals, irrigation and water supply departments were exempted from strike and giving utmost priority, he pointed. In Krishna district, they have received 29 complaints on Thursday and 23 were rectified within hours and resumed the power supply, he said. In Nellore districts 15 complaints were rectified out of the total 20 received through call centre, he said. In Prakasam district 10 complaints have been rectified out of 15 received, he said.

In Guntur district, the employees acted on time and rectified the problems at 33KV sub-stations at Bhattiprolu and Narsaraopet and few technical problems in 11 KV line in several places, he said. In Madanapalle division of Chittoor district, the power supply was disrupted due to the fall of a tree on the 11 KV line and power supply resumed within hours, he said. In Kadapa district also the employees, despite being on strike, resumed the power supply in Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant line in Yerraguntla village within hours, he pointed.

Employees discussed about the future course of action to intensify the strike after September 16, in a meeting. They also staged protest in front of the corporate office in Tirupati and demanded the Union government to keep the State united for the interests of public and development of the State.