Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) brought relief to Chennai’s power consumers who are made to wait for long hours when calling Minnagam (9498794987) to report power cuts, by reviving the Fuse-Off Call (FOC) helplines. It has set up 77 helplines to cater to areas where interruptions occur often and for long hours. Each FOC team with a dedicated phone number will comprise four members with a dedicated vehicle to rush to the spots to attend faults in transformers, poles, overhead and underground cables to restore power supply, said TNPDCL chairman and managing director J Radhakrishnan.Funds have been released to superintendent engineers concerned and further disbursed to section officers where the FOC is set to become operational. “A telephone operator will attend grievance calls and record the complaints. They will travel with the FOC team to updating them,” added the official.FOC system, a localised grievance redressal mechanism, was done away with following the introduction of centralised call centre Minnagam during the previous regime, but the consumers’ major complaint was that the centralised helpline was often not reachable. However, some Fuse Off Call helplines remained partially functional.While Minnagam continues to be operational, revival of FOC is expected to bring down anomalies in the complaint mechanism. In Chennai North region, comprising 71 sections, 15 FOC helplines are already functional, while an additional 19 helplines have been introduced to focus on areas such as Perambur, Villivakkam, R K Nagar and outskirts such as Ponneri. Chennai South region, which has eight FOC helplines has increased the number to 24 with dedicated teams deployed for Madipakkam, Kundrathur, Porur, Poonamallee.The Adyar region too has increased the FOC helplines from six to 20 with a dedicated team for all its 12 subdivisions. “Tambaram and Thoraipakkam section officers have been provided additional teams,” said an official. Similarly, Avadi region too has got an additional FOC helpline in addition to the existing 19 helplines.
