Govt launches dedicated pan-India helpline for power outages

Consumers can now get an update from power distribution companies about outages in their area through 'Urja Mitra Helpline' by dialling 14401.
Department of Telecom (DoT) has created the helpline to facilitate power distribution companies to provide information about outages to customers.
The helpline is for pan-India usage to send information through voice calls and SMSes to apprise customers about power situation in their area so that they can plan accordingly, DoT said in a notification.
It is a mandatory service, which will be provided by all the telecom operators.
Government is aiming to leverage information technology driven power distribution in the next three years that will allow users to get a supply status at 4,041 urban towns on a real-time basis.

Once this project is up and running, consumers can get the information through the Urja mobile app.
The app, developed by Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on behalf of the Power Ministry, will enhance consumer connect with power distribution companies.
Consumers can get information on outages, timely release of connections, complaint redressal and power reliability, among others.