Hyderabad: The Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) has removed previous posts related to scheduled and unscheduled power outages from its official account on micro-blogging site X.
Moreover, the once ‘proactive’ account, @TsspdclCorporat, is now unresponsive to complaints on the platform.
Despite at least eight user complaints regarding power cuts, tagging the official TSSPDCL account, on February 3, there was been no response.
There was an unscheduled power cut in several parts of the city on Saturday morning, which prompted the citizens to voice their anger on the social media.
Netizens expressed frustration over the lack of responsiveness to recent complaints, urging TSSPDCL to address the issues promptly.
The last acknowledgment from @TsspdclCorporat was recorded on January 21, responding to a user’s request. On the day before, the account had engaged with 54 users reporting power outages.
Surprisingly, all tweets from January 1 have been deleted, despite the official account actively responding to queries and providing updates on power outages until January 21.
Meanwhile, data obtained previously by Siasat.com reveals a significant increase in alerts posted by @TsspdclCorporat in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. It was found that the number of outage alerts increased manifold as compared to the previous year.
The move has raised concerns among the public about the transparency of the power distribution company and its communication practices.
“The power cuts are part of the maintenance schedule to meet higher power demand in the summer/rabi season,” Musharraf Ali Faruqui, managing director of TSSPDCL, said. According to him, power cuts up to two hours are needed between November and January to meet the demand.
“We regret the inconvenience caused due to power interruptions in various parts of #GHMC. Kindly note as part of annual maintenance & to prepare for higher power demand in the Summer/Rabi season, power cut of up to 2 hours may be required @revanth_anumula @Bhatti_Mallu @TsspdclCorporat,” he said in a post on X, which has also been deleted.
After GHMC with the handle @GHMCOnline, @TsspdclCorporat is the most followed government department in Telangana with 54.8 thousand followers.
TSSPDCL official source said that, the official account was hacked so they had to delete the posts. However, they will start posting the updates on power cuts soon, the source confirmed. They also noted that users need to fill in details, like USC number, registered mobile number and area to get a response.
