Sheila discusses power situation in Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 1 (UNI) With the mercury going up by the day, the Delhi government today initiated steps to meet the deficit in power demand in peak summer.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reviewed the power situation and directed officials to take measures to minimise the demand and supply gap, an official spokesman said.

Among steps discussed was purchase of 300 MW of surplus power from Himachal Pradesh in May, he said. Ms Dikshit will meet Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in this regard.

The capital is expected to experience a shortfall of around 445 MW power in June. Both power distribution companies, however, said they were better prepared to meet the situation than in previous years, the spokesman said.

Ms Dikshit asked the officials to take steps to minimise electricity theft and educate consumers about energy conservation.

State Power Minister Haroon Yusuf, Chief Secretary S Regunathan, senior officials of Delhi Transco Limited, Discoms, Power Department and MCD attended the meeting.

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