NEW DELHI: Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood issued a stern warning on Thursday against individuals spreading misinformation about power cuts in the city.
Sood asserted that during the AAP regime, which lasted over a decade, there were more than 31,958 instances of power cuts lasting over five hours, averaging 14 cuts per day.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Atishi, recently alleged an increase in power outages since the BJP took office in the city. She questioned how there were no outages in 10 years under the AAP, but power cuts returned within a month of BJP rule, insinuating incompetence in governance.
In response, Sood, during a press conference on Thursday, accused Atishi of fabricating falsehoods to deceive the public. He emphasized that legal action is being considered against those spreading misinformation and causing unrest.
Furthermore, Sood criticized AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal for claiming a significant shortage of electricity, water, and medicines in government hospitals. He accused Kejriwal and Atishi of hypocrisy, highlighting their previous threats against discoms, which they now praise.
Sood also shared data provided by discoms regarding power outages in the last decade. The numbers show a decline in power cut instances from 2015 to 2019, with a slight increase in 2023 and 2024.
The minister acknowledged that power cuts are sometimes necessary to prevent the risk of electrocution during waterlogging incidents.
“The government is currently identifying areas prone to flooding and working closely with the Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Jal Board to effectively address this issue,” he stated confidently.
Sood went on to highlight that Delhi’s peak power demand had reached 8,600 MW last year, and it is projected to rise to 9,200 MW this summer. Despite this significant increase, he assured that the government is well-equipped and fully prepared to meet the heightened demand.
