Gram panchayats, urban local bodies owe Mescom ₹305.84 crore for power supply
Mescom is facing a significant financial shortfall as local government bodies owe over ₹305 crore for power services. The company is also investing in infrastructure upgrades, including underground cabling and transformer replacements, to improve grid reliability.
Why it matters
Financial stability of utility companies is critical for maintaining essential infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted power supply.
Gram panchayats and urban local bodies (ULBs) owe Mescom ₹305.84 crore for supplying power, according to K. Harish Kumar, chairman of the company.
Addressing presspersons here on Saturday evening, Mr. Kumar, a former MLC, said that gram panchayats owe ₹298.19 crore for supplying electricity to streetlights and water supply installations, while urban local bodies are yet to pay ₹7 crore for the same.
He said the company suffered a loss of ₹25.77 crore due to heavy winds and rain between April 1 and August 26 this year. In all, 17,770 electric poles and 496.37 km of power supply lines were damaged during the period. Heavy losses were reported in Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, and Shivamogga districts.
The company has approved replacing the existing power supply lines in elephant corridors and forest areas with covered conductors. This project will be taken up shortly in Puttur, Shivamogga, Sagar, Chikkamagaluru, Koppa, and Kundapur areas.
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