DW BUREAU / Shimla

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday directed the state electricity board to implement a comprehensive strategy to accurately assess the power losses and curb electricity theft. While presiding over a meeting of officers of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) and Energy Department, he said the officers need to take every measure to check the power losses.

He further directed the authorities to carry out feeder-wise mapping of all commercial, industrial and domestic consumers so that entire information is available on a single click.

The chief minister also asked them to provide an option by April 30 to all the officers and officials of HPSEBL currently serving on deputation in the Directorate of Energy, Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation and Power Corporation.

He said the staff of the civil wing can also opt to go to the PWD and other departments.

The employees would be governed by the existing terms and conditions, and there would be no impact on their promotions and other benefits, he added.

"The government will also amend the necessary policies to ensure that all benefits are protected. HPSEBL will be strengthened by filling up 2,000 posts of T-mates and Linemen in the coming months in order to streamline the functioning of the organisation," he said.

Sukhu also reviewed the progress of 450 MW Shong-Tong Power Project and instructed the concerned officers to ensure the timely completion of the project. He said that the state government has set a target to complete Shong-Tong Power Project by November 2026 and also directed to plan for power evacuation once the project is functional and prevent monetary losses. Sukhu also instructed the authorities to transfer the officers and officials serving in industrial areas for a longer span to ensure transparency and accountability in the governance.

(editor@dailyworld.in)