The Department of Telecom (DoT) has introduced a new helpline called ‘Urja Mitra’ for updates about electricity supply. Consumers in India can now dial 14401 and get an update from their respective power distribution companies about outages in their area through the ‘Urja Mitra Helpline’.

• >> 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 SMSs to apprise customers about power situation in their area so that they can plan accordingly, DoT said in a notification. DoT also said that 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 smartphone 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, consumer grievances and power reliability, among others.Consumers can get information on outages, timely release of connections, complaint redressal and power reliability, among others.