Lokesh Chandra Flags Frequent Outages, Pushes For Stronger Power Infrastructure and Recovery Drives
Lokesh Chandra Flags Frequent Outages, Pushes For Stronger Power Infrastructure and Recovery Drives
Solapur, July 24, 2025: Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) Chairman and Managing Director Lokesh Chandra has directed officials to ensure uninterrupted, quality power supply to all consumers and take immediate steps to expedite electricity bill recovery, especially in light of the rising dues across regions.
During a comprehensive review meeting held at the Planning Bhavan in Solapur on Thursday, Chandra assessed various ongoing schemes and projects across Pune, Kolhapur, and Baramati zones. Senior officials including Director (Operations/Projects) Sachin Talewar, Executive Directors Prasad Reshme and Dhananjay Aundhekar, Regional Director Sunil Kakade, and Chief Engineers Dharmaraj Pethkar and Swapnil Katkar were present.
Chandra emphasized that MSEDCL engineers and staff have the capability to provide excellent consumer services, but added that more proactive, timely, and customer-friendly efforts are required. He stressed on following the service time standards, improving coordination with customers, understanding their issues, and resolving them promptly.
Addressing the issue of frequent power outages, Chandra instructed officials to urgently implement corrective measures, minimize power cut durations during planned maintenance, and inform customers via SMS in advance. He also called for local infrastructure strengthening plans to support uninterrupted supply.
Expressing concern over rising bill arrears since April, he said this is a serious financial concern and added, “There is no alternative to revenue recovery for MSEDCL’s financial stability. Any negligence in this area will lead to action.” He highlighted that 15% of Pune region consumers had their connections permanently disconnected due to non-payment, which is also contributing to increased power losses—with Pune rural showing 6.94% and Solapur zone the highest at 28.31%.
Chandra also instructed all zones to initiate audits of permanently disconnected connections and take strict action against power theft through targeted enforcement drives.
He further reviewed progress on the PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme, which aims to install rooftop solar panels in 5 lakh homes across Maharashtra by March 2026, including 1 lakh homes in Pune region. This would significantly reduce household power bills. He urged awareness campaigns about the scheme, especially in rural areas and during Independence Day gram sabhas.
In a separate session with Solapur industrialists, Chandra announced that industrial electricity tariffs are set to decrease over the next five years, owing to robust reforms in the energy sector under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He assured that industrial consumers will benefit from these cuts and instructed quick resolution of their issues.
He also held a review meeting with contractors and agencies working on schemes like CM Solar Agri Feeder Yojana 2.0, on-demand solar pumps, RDSS, and EV charging stations, instructing them to accelerate project execution.
